Intertwined
by CalypsoSunn
Summary: When Toris found the injured faery, he didn't expect to fall for him and convince him to stay, despite knowing the king was after him. But when Feliks is captured, Toris realizes choosing his feelings over the faery's safety might not have been the best option. Because not only was Feliks now in danger, but so were the other faeries who were determined to help Toris get him back.
1. Chapter 1

**NOTE:**

 **So this will be the first part in what I hope to be a trilogy. The major characters will include Lithuania (Toris), Poland (Feliks), Hungary (Elizabeta), Prussia (Gilbert), Switzerland (Vash), Canada (Matt), Austria (Roderich), and will involve a few other characters important to the plot but aren't main characters.**

 **The first part will involve more of a focus on Feliks and Toris but will progress to a more equal balance between the main characters.**

 **I'm sorry if the first two chapters seem slow - they are mainly for setting up the story and the world, but after these, the main plot and action will follow :) Also, the first chapter is pretty short, but after this, they will be more lengthy. So here goes!**

It was late in the afternoon when Toris completed all his deliveries in the village. Typically, he remained in the town for an hour or so, speaking with some of his friends, but he was abnormally exhausted and figured heading home and getting some rest wouldn't do him any harm. Without any hesitation, he began heading north toward the outskirts of the village. His home was one of the farthest from the village center, meaning it was at least a twenty minute walk to get there. Normally, he didn't mind the walk; he enjoyed the peace and quiet that was so different than all the action happening in the village center. But. on a day like today when all he wanted to do was curl up and sleep, the walk was an agonizing thought.

After what seemed like an eternity, he could finally see his lone house off in the distance, and he quickened his pace, eager to make it inside. However, as he got closer, he saw several figures off toward the outskirts of the forest. Toris frowned, squinting to get a better view. Occasionally, some of the king's guards would patrol the area, making sure everything was normal and safe. But now, it looked to Toris as if there was some sort of fight going on, something that was extremely highly unusual. He got as close as he dared, hiding behind a thick tree that was closer to his house than to whatever was going on.

And it seemed he was right - off maybe two hundred meters from him was a group of six knights, swords and shields in hand as they fought to...protect themselves? Toris was having a hard time figuring out what was going on - all he could see was flashes of golden blonde hair that seemed to be attacking the knights. Toris bit his lip - he knew it wasn't his place to intervene, especially because he didn't know what was happening. But as he saw the blonde take down two knights, he began to get worried. What if it was a bandit that was trying to get into the village? Toris knew the knights were more experienced than he was, but even if he could help somewhat, wouldn't it be better than standing and watching?

However, in the time he took debating his position, the blonde managed to take down another two knights. The remaining two froze with swords in hand, looking as if they didn't know what to do either. But, much to Toris' surprise, they turn and ran back in the direction of the castle. Toris frowned, finding this quite unusual. Knights were not known to turn tail and run, especially to someone perceived as a threat. So why would they leave this fight?

Toris turned his eyes back to the blonde, and he could see whoever it was suddenly collapse to the ground. Toris' stomach twinged - he still didn't know what was going on, but it was clear this person was injured. He glanced once more in the direction the knights fled before rushing over to the blonde, his curiosity getting the better of him.

However, Toris' eyes widened as he stood in front of the blonde. He was bleeding profusely out of what appeared to be a stab wound in his side, but it wasn't the reason for Toris' awe.

The blonde's eyes quickly met Toris', and he stopped breathing at the sight of his crystal green eyes. Toris observed the rest of his face, marveling in how beautiful his skin was, how, despite just fighting for his life, his hair seemed to fall perfectly around his face. Everything about him was beautiful, but it was unnaturally so.

Which is how Toris knew he wasn't human.

While Toris was still distracted, the blonde drew his blade in front of him, holding it out at an arm's length to keep Toris away. Toris then realized how this looked to the creature - he was just attacked by guards, and now another human was approaching. Quickly, the brunette put his arms up, indicating surrender.

"I'm not here to hurt you," he said softly, staring at the figure in front of him with what he hoped was a genuine expression. "I'm going to help you, but I need to get you out of here in order to do that."

The blonde looked at him, eyes full of distrust. "I don't need your help," he hissed, beautiful despite his anger.

As if to prove his point, the blonde tried to get up but quickly collapsed again, falling to his knees. Toris rushed to his side, unsure as to why he was so keen on helping a complete stranger, especially this one.

"Please, you'll bleed out if your wound is left untreated," Toris insisted, trying not to plead. "I know a place I can treat you that's away from the village, and I promise once you're healed, you can leave. I won't keep you there any longer than necessary, alright?"

The blonde still looked incredibly wary, and Toris could tell from the way he stared at him that the creature was trying to figure out his intentions. Toris remained quiet, giving him time to figure it out, although he silently hoped he would make up his mind soon - the bleeding wasn't slowing down, and the longer they waited, the less time Toris had to treat it.

The blonde tried getting up again, and before he could collapse to the ground, Toris grabbed him, growing increasingly worried. It was obvious the blonde was on the verge of passing out, and it was all Toris could do to keep him upright.

"Fine," the creature finally muttered, his eyes closing. "But try anything funny, and I'll kill you."

Toris paid the comment no mind as he picked the now unconscious blonde up, his fatigue suddenly nonexistent. As quickly as he could with the added weight, Toris headed farther north and into the woods, bringing the creature to the one place he knew they wouldn't be disturbed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note:hey all, I just wanted to apologize if this chapter is very dialogue heavy, but I promise, this is the last chapter like this. Again, it's to set up the world and other details. After this, things pick up :)**

The sound of footsteps alerted Feliks to the fact that something was amiss, and he immediately awoke, his head swiveling to the side just as a figure entered the room. The brunette jumped, clearly startled, and it gave Feliks the slightest bit of satisfaction. If this human was scared of him, it would only be that much easier to escape. However, as he looked down, he realized he wasn't bound to anything but was rather laid down on what appeared to be a bed, his chest bare save for some bandages wrapped around his lower half.

He frowned, momentarily confused as to how he was injured until he suddenly recalled the past events. Right. This human "saved" him after he fought off the group of knights. But was he really just trying to help him, or did he have other motives?

Feliks glanced toward the human, eyes narrowed in suspicion as the boy hesitantly approached his side with a small smile.

"You're awake already," the human commented, sounding surprised.

Feliks didn't respond immediately, choosing to observe the human instead. His voice was seemingly innocent enough, and his expression indicated he wasn't trying to hide anything. It was obvious from his posture and body language that the human was nervous as well - he was slouched ever so slightly, and he had played with his choppy brown hair at least three times since entering the room. It was clear to Feliks that whoever this human was, he wasn't a threat. And even if he did have ulterior motives, Feliks knew he wouldn't be able to act on them.

The human glanced away, seemingly uncomfortable by Feliks' stare. He frowned, surprised by the human's behaviors.

"What is your name?" Feliks asked, keeping his voice neutral as he carefully propped himself up against the headboard of the bed.

The human glanced back at him, surprised by the question. "Uh, T-Toris," he stuttered, his nerves clearly exposed. "And what is yours?" he asked hesitantly, taking a step closer so he was next to the bed.

Feliks hesitated before responding. "Feliks," he replied.

Toris nodded. "How are you feeling, Feliks?"

The blonde frowned, thrown off by the question. This human had a magical creature in his home, and he was asking how he felt?

"I'm just fine," he said carefully, unsure of what else to say.

Toris nodded once again, the small smile returning to his face. "Good," he said earnestly. "The wound should be fine, but you'll have to rest here a few days to make sure it heals properly.

Feliks just stared at him, a brow raised in disbelief. A few days?

The human must have interpreted the look fairly quickly, because he rushed on. "Normally, I would tell someone to give it at least a week," he said, playing with his hair again absentmindedly, "but seeing as you're already awake, and uh...well, I think you may heal a bit more quickly from this," he finished lamely.

Feliks' brow didn't lower. Toris clearly knew he wasn't human, yet he seemed so nervous about the idea that he didn't even know what to say. He kept skirting around the subject, and if Feliks was being honest, it was actually quite entertaining.

"Toris," he said suddenly, causing the human to look at him with hesitation. "It's obvious you know I'm not human, so why don't you just ask what's on your mind already?"

The human's face flushed red from embarrassment, and he looked away again. He opened his mouth, looking like he was about to respond before he closed it again. Feliks frowned, unsure why he was so nervous about it. However, he waited patiently, deciding the human was nice enough to warrant his patience.

Finally, Toris looked back to the blonde, unease clear in his eyes. "Uh," he started, biting his lip before continuing. "Are you, um, a faery?"

Ah, finally, he said it, a question that took merely seconds to ask. Was it really that hard?

The blonde nodded in response to the question. "That would be correct."

Toris nodded, opening his mouth once again, words not coming out until moments later. "Okay," he replied meekly.

Feliks stared at the human once again before rolling his eyes. "You just met one of the fae, and that's all you have to say?"

Toris' eyes widened. "Ah, no!" he got out quickly. "I, well, can I ask you a few questions?"

Feliks made sure to conceal his continued surprise at the human's behavior. Having observed the humans in all his years of life, he always noted most of them to be brash, demanding whatever they wished. But this human was clearly different - he was asking a faery if he could ask him questions? Even though Feliks was, more or less, at his mercy, and the human was still trying to be polite? It confused him, but not entirely in an unpleasant way. It moreso intrigued him - not that he would admit it, but it made him interested in this human.

"You can ask as many as you want," Feliks finally responded with a shrug.

Feliks didn't think it was possible, but Toris' eyes widened even more, making him look as though the entire world was just handed to him on a silver platter. Oddly enough, it made Feliks smile inwardly, glad that a human wanted to know more about the fae, more than the lies they were told by the elder humans.

"Ah, okay," Toris said, his voice more eager now than shy. He paused to think before going on. "How old are you?"

Feliks fought the urge to laugh, not surprised at all by this question. "I'm nineteen of your human years," he responded easily, earning an astonished look from Toris.

He let out a small laugh. "Not all fae are immortal," he said, knowing this to be the reason for the brunette's confusion. "Some are, but the majority in my kingdom merely live an extended human life, maybe around 200 to 300 years?"

The amazement didn't leave the human's eyes, and Feliks couldn't help but notice how adorable the look was.

"Right," Toris said in response, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. "I guess it's just weird to me that a faery is the same age as me."

Feliks shrugged, but before he could respond, Toris already had another question coming out of his mouth, all traces of unease gone.

"What were you doing out of your kingdom?" he rushed out, eyes sparkling. "Is it far from here? And how many faeries are there?"

Feliks blinked, digesting the onslaught of questions before answering. "I can't say exactly where my kingdom is, only that it isn't far away. As for the how many there are…" Feliks paused again, thinking it over. It was kind of hard to figure that one out, considering the kingdom was rather expansive, and they weren't like humans who kept track of the amount of people in one area. That, and Feliks wasn't good at figuring out amounts of things.

"How many people are in your village?" he asked Toris, figuring it would help give him a good gauge.

Toris frowned, thinking a moment. "Well, considering King Antonio's palace is in the center, we have a pretty large population. Maybe ten thousand?"

Feliks eyes widened ever so slightly. Wow, okay, that seemed like a very large number. It didn't seem possible, but then again, his part of the kingdom _was_ larger than Toris' village, so it _had_ to be possible.

"Well, I guess in my kingdom, there's more than in your village," Feliks responded, knowing it wasn't much of an answer. "I doubt it's many more, but the kingdom is pretty expansive."

"Are there multiple faery kingdoms?" Toris asked, cutting Feliks off before he could finish answering the human's last question.

The blonde frowned, trying to think of a good way to explain it. "Technically, all of the fae live in the same land," he started, feeling as though this wasn't going to make sense, "but it is divided into two kingdoms, the summer court and the winter court. I am from the summer, although there aren't many differences between the two kingdoms. Other than those in the winter are known to be more cruel, and the weather obviously. But we coexist peacefully, but we tend to leave each other alone."

Toris nodded. "I understand," he said, much to Feliks' surprise. "It's the same way here, where we may have multiple kingdoms existing on one piece of land. But anyways, so why were you out of your kingdom? Is it typical for faeries to leave?"

Damn, the questions just kept coming. This human was leaving him with very little room to breathe. Although he wasn't complaining. Yet.

"It's pretty common for us to leave, although we don't linger in the human world. We come for brief periods, less than a day, before returning. We mainly come to interact with your nature, making sure everything is in check and well. As for me, I left to do this, because you humans tend to destroy nature very easily."

Toris flushed at the comment but continued on regardless. "So do you all have powers that let you interact with nature?"

Feliks shrugged. "It's sort of complicated," he began. "Most of us have...powers, as you call it… but they differ from faery to faery. Not all of us have powers that help rebuild and strengthen the nature around us, but even those that don't are still close to nature and interact with it regardless."

Toris nodded. "So what's your power?"

Feliks raised a brow, very amused by the human referring to it as "power". He opened his mouth to respond but soon shut it, thinking before responding. "Perhaps I will show you when you deem me well enough to get out of bed," he said, digging at the human's insistence for his rest.

However, it seemed to go right over Toris' head as his eyes lit up in excitement. "Okay!" he responded eagerly, flashing Feliks his first large smile.

However, it didn't last very long, and the human ran his fingers through his hair again. Feliks frowned, associating this with his nerves again. Putting the pieces together, he figured the human wanted to ask another question that he felt uncomfortable doing so.

"Ah, Feliks, can I ask you one more question?" he asked, his voice as quiet as it was before his bombardment of questions.

"Toris, like I said before," Feliks responded, still frowning, "you may ask of me anything you wish."

The brunette nodded, waiting a moment before asking. "Why were the knights after you?"

Feliks stiffened on instinct, although he didn't think it was noticeable to the human. The question was fairly easy to answer, but Feliks knew he had to be careful with what he said. There were some things this human could know, but others were meant to stay with Feliks.

"You live in this world," the blonde said with a shrug, keeping his voice neutral. "You know any fae caught in the human world are to be brought to your king without question so he can, ah, what is it he tells you?" Feliks snapped his fingers before continuing, as if quickly remembering. "To protect you, that's what I was thinking of. He wants all fae captured to protect you humans," Feliks finished, fighting off an amused smile from how idiotic it sounded.

It still amazed Feliks how easily humans were fooled, and how blindly they followed those in power. It had been so easy for the human kings to convince their people of the danger that came from the fae, all because they felt their own power was threatened. But, at least those kings in the past left the fae alone, not bothering with trying to capture them. But this king…

"You don't seem very dangerous," Toris said quietly, removing Feliks from his thoughts. He looked to the human, seeing what appeared to be a skeptic expression on his face. The faery knew he shouldn't have been surprised considering his inquisitive nature, but he still couldn't help being amazed at this human.

Feliks kept his expression guarded. "I can be dangerous," he started, raising a brow, "just like you humans can. But I, as well as the rest of the fae, choose to remain away from humans because we have nothing to gain from harming you."

Toris nodded, silent. It was clear he was thinking very hard, and the blonde couldn't entirely blame him.

"Out of curiosity," he said, "what exactly does your king say about the fae, and why they're so dangerous?"

The human shrugged. "He says in the past, the fae broke the peace by deceiving and manipulating the humans, taking advantage of them, and that's the reason we no longer coexist together. And he wants any information on faeries near the village so no one can be manipulated into doing something terrible."

It was quiet for several moments before Feliks raised a brow, shaking his head in disbelief. He probably shouldn't have found it humorous, but he had a weak spot for human lies. They could make up the most ridiculous things, but others would believe them so easily. It really was too funny.

"But I don't think I believe that," Toris added, interrupting the faeries thoughts once again.

Feliks turned to him, a brow raised. However, he wasn't surprised this time - if the human _did_ believe his king, he wouldn't be asking so many questions. If he believed in the king, Feliks would have been at the feet of the king by this point.

He watched the human with his own mild curiosity for several moments, noting how, despite how confused he appeared to be, there was a hint of fierceness behind his eyes, giving Feliks the indication he _wanted_ to know the truth and didn't want to remain ignorant. The faery fought back a smile, more pleased with this human than he cared to admit.

"I figured as much," he finally responded, earning a shocked look from Toris. "You're asking plenty of questions, meaning you're interested in hearing another side. If you firmly believed in your king, you wouldn't be so inquisitive. Anyways," he said with a shrug, "it's not as though your king told you complete lies - he just told it in reverse. We existed peacefully until the humans tried to use us for our magic, and as more and more began to abuse the power of our names simply for personal gain, the previous two kings of the summer and winter courts decided it was time to seal off the entrances to the kingdom and to break ties with the humans.

"So, that's why the guards were fighting me," Feliks finished. "They were just following orders blindly.

He left out the more important part, knowing the human didn't need to know that much. This explanation was simple enough, and it wasn't as though he was lying - he was simply omitting a minor, personal detail. It was fine, though, because he knew he had to in order to protect himself and his kingdom. Although, as he thought about it, he was probably protecting the human as well.

"What do you mean, names?" Toris asked, his eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

Feliks, too, was momentarily confused. He thought the humans knew about the power a faerie's true name held, unless the knowledge ceased to be passed down, instead only confined to those in power?

"I said my name is Feliks, right?" he started, earning a nod from Toris. "Well, that's not my true name," he continued, already seeing Toris' confusion growing. "The name the fae use to communicate is simply a way to distinguish one another. But we also have our true name which is known only to the faery himself, unless he chooses to tell a loved one or someone he trusts. Because when another knows your true name, it can be used to command or control that faery. So, it's something you don't want others to know about because if in the wrong hands, it can easily be used for the wrong reasons."

And it wasn't an exageration - you literally could command one of the fae to do _anything_ if you knew his true name. Darkness truly took over the human world when they began using their names for personal gain, and even with the separation of kingdoms, the darkness still thrived in the human world.

However, the human's behavior not only affected their own world, but it changed the fae as well, making them much more guarded and distrustful. While Feliks wasn't alive when all of this happened, he knew what it must have been like for the fae who had been betrayed by humans they had come to love. Despite the lack of contact between humans and the fae, there were still some that developed relationships with humans. One of his own friends in the summer court did that, and Feliks and the others all thought the relationship was beautiful, truly genuine.

But, after quite some time, it turned out they were all wrong, and to this day, Feliks had never seen someone look as broken as that faery did when he returned that day. Giving one's name required unprecedented trust, and to have that completely shattered by a human, well, Feliks could only imagine it was like this with all the other fae all those years ago.

"Does anyone know your name?" Toris asked tentatively, distracting the blonde from his thoughts.

Feliks shook his head. "For the most part, we only tell the one we are destined to be with for the rest of our lives," he explained. "There's no point in telling anyone else, really."

Toris frowned. "But what about your parents? Wouldn't they know considering they're the ones who give you a name?"

He paused, momentarily confused until he recalled this sort of thing was very different between the two worlds. "In my kingdom, we aren't raised by who gives birth to us. We're born, and whatever our name is, well…" he hesitated, trying to figure out how to explain it. "We kind of just… know it, I guess, like an instinct. It's not given to you by another faery, but it's, inbred, into your mind. Then, we just choose our own name to use in daily conversations."

Toris nodded, but Feliks could tell the idea didn't really make sense. He couldn't blame the human - it was a rather abstract idea, hard to understand unless you actually experienced it.

Feliks looked at the human, his own curiosity making him want to be the one asking questions about Toris. From their history with the humans to his own friend's occurrence with a human, the blonde had developed a rather negative image of all humans. However, this one was quickly changing that, making him think maybe not all humans were bad. He wanted to know more about this one, about what it was that made him different from the others, why he was so inquisitive when the majority weren't.

However, one look at Toris' face made Feliks realize he was exhausted, looking like it was taking all his energy just to remain on his feet. Feliks remembered it was late in the afternoon when he had been caught by the knights, and some time must have passed while he was unconscious. So, it could very well be later at night.

"I think that's plenty of questions for right now," Feliks said with a small huff, looking to Toris with a raised brow. "I'm pretty sure you humans need a lot of rest, so why don't you go sleep, and we can pick this up tomorrow."

Toris looked to him, wide eyed yet again. "Really?" he asked, and Feliks wasn't sure why he was still so surprised. "Yes, I would like that."

Feliks nodded, not admitting he would like that too. Toris, taking that as his cue to leave, took a step back.

"Goodnight, Feliks," he said with a small smile. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to come get me or call for me. I'll be in the room next door."

Feliks rolled his eyes. "I will be fine, Toris," he said, frowning at the human. "You're the one who needs rest."

Toris let out the smallest laugh, the sound more beautiful than anything Feliks had ever heard in nature. "I guess you're right," he admitted before turning around. "Goodnight," he said once more, exiting the room and leaving the faery by himself.

Feliks frowned, a sudden wave of exhaustion hitting him as well. His curiosity was still peaked - part of him wanted to get out of the bed and explore whatever dwelling he was in, but he also knew if he was to leave here as soon as possible, it would be best to rest.

Slowly, he lowered himself so he was laying on his back, the thought of the human was still on his mind. Despite the part of his mind telling him to proceed with caution, he wanted to know as much about this human as possible. He truly felt that this one was good and would never cause him harm, but that other part of his brain made him question if this is what the other fae felt with the humans they disclosed their names to. Was Feliks foolish for coming to trust this human so quickly?

He closed his eyes, willing the thoughts away. It wasn't like he was going to tell the human his name anyways, so it didn't really matter what he did. No, he thought, feeling unconsciousness creeping closer, he would be fine, especially because he would be there for no more than four days.

 _What's the worst that could happen,_ he thought, leaving the question unanswered as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

~~()~~

King Antonio sat on the edge of Lovino's bed, staring at the sketch of the faery his knights had ran into.

"Lovino," he said without turning his head, addressing the faery next to him, "is this the one from your vision from several years back?"

Lovino's eyes sparked with recognition, but he kept his mouth closed, unwilling to answer.

Noticing his silence, Antonio turned to the faery. "Loviniran," the king murmured, "tell me - is this the faery from your vision?"

Immediately upon hearing his name, the faery stiffened, an uncomfortable feeling settling inside his body, more uncomfortable than the feeling he constantly had due to the iron bounds around his wrists. Unable to control it, he felt his mouth opening despite wanting with all his heart to keep his mouth shut.

"Yes," he forced out, a mixture of guilt and hatred pooling in his stomach, all directed at himself.

Antonio, however, didn't seem to take notice. A smile formed on his face, and he leaned over to press a soft kiss onto Lovino's forehead, causing the faery to shift uncomfortably.

"Thank you," he murmured again before standing up, heading out the door without a second glance back. Lovino watched the king open the door, closing it just as quickly as he began to speak to the guards outside as if to prevent the faery from hearing their conversation. However, Antonio seemed to forget that faeries level of hearing was better than that of a human, and he caught on to what the king said quite easily.

"Send out as many knights as you can," Antonio instructed, sending a wave of nausea through Lovino. "I want that faery caught as soon as possible."


	3. Chapter 3

The excitement from that day had kept Toris up almost the entire night, until finally, he managed to fall asleep at some point nearing the morning. However, it was short lived as he had to wake up mere hours later to make it into town for work. His body longed to stay under the covers for a few more minutes, but he knew he didn't have time. He still had to stop back home first, and he figured it would be best to inform his guest of his absence before leaving.

Toris reluctantly got himself out of bed, tying his hair back before putting his shoes on and leaving the room. He quietly walked next door to Feliks' room and pushed open the door, trying his hardest not to make a sound. He didn't know the sleep habits of faeries, but if they were similar to humans, he figured the faery would probably still be asleep.

However, as soon as he saw the unoccupied bed, Toris threw open the door, eyes wide in panic as he glanced around the room, searching for any sign of Feliks. Where had he gone? Had he really left already? Toris knew he most likely wanted to get home as soon as possible - he understood that. But he thought he had actually bonded with the faery, even if it wasn't on a highly personal level. And unless he was mistaken, it had seemed like Feliks wasn't irritated, and even seemed curious himself. So why would he leave so suddenly?

A crash from downstairs shook Toris from his thoughts, and his blood suddenly ran cold. What if it was King Antonio's knights? What if they had been searching the area and found out Toris was involved with the faery? Or, what if Feliks was still here, and they were trying to take him away? Toris grew up with the knowledge that all fae were dangerous to humans; however, after meeting Feliks, he quickly came to realize how wrong that was. And he wouldn't let someone so innocent be taken away by the king.

Toris ran downstairs, the thought of being weaponless not concerning him at the moment. He paused at the base of the stairs to peer around the wall, hoping to catch whoever was in his home. However, much to his surprise, only one person, or creature, stood in the kitchen.

The brunette let out a sigh of relief and emerged from behind the wall, approaching the faery who stared down at the floor with a frown.

"You humans craft your diningware very poorly," he observed as Toris approached his side to see a broken plate on the floor.

Toris frowned back. "What, did you throw it on the ground or something?"

The faery shrugged. "I wanted to see what it would do," he said, innocently enough.

Toris stared at him, amusement creeping up. He gave a small smile and shook his head. If one broken plate meant Feliks wasn't in the clutches of the king, then so be it.

He bent down to begin picking up the shards, careful to avoid cutting himself. "Feliks, I'm pretty sure you should still be in bed resting," Toris commented with a frown, realizing it hadn't even been an entire day since the faery was wounded.

Toris caught Feliks rolling his eyes as he stood up to dispose of the broken plate. "Isn't the best way to get over an injury to go out and tough it out?" the blonde said, crossing his arms.

"I'm pretty sure that's the complete opposite of what you're supposed to do," Toris replied, forcing himself not to laugh as he turned to face the faery. "Look, I have to go into the village to complete my deliveries, so why don't you just rest until I get back?"

Feliks made a face, one that said he clearly did not like that idea, but Toris rushed on. "Look, I know you're eager to get home, but just do me this favor and rest. If you do, maybe I'll deem you well enough to show me your ability."

Feliks stared at him with an incomprehensible expression for several moments, and Toris was afraid he was going to argue the idea. However, after what felt like hours of staring into each other's eyes, Feliks finally sighed.

"Fine," he conceded, still not sounding happy about it. "But I'm not sitting in bed all day. I'll stay inside, but you cannot confine me to one room."

He glared at Toris with a defiance, as if waiting for Toris to challenge him. The look sent a flutter of emotion through his stomach, and he found himself becoming lost in the green eyes staring back at him. Toris had heard the stories of the unparalleled beauty of the fae, but he hadn't realized just how otherworldly their beauty was. He had seen plenty of beautiful humans in his days, but none of them compared to the creature standing right in front of him. The creature with perfectly pale skin and golden hair to match…

Toris snapped himself from his thoughts, realizing the faery was waiting for a response. He felt his face flush in embarrassment, but he did his best to pretend he hadn't just spaced out.

"Alright, just take it easy," he relented, ignoring the curious look on Feliks' face. "I'll try to run through my deliveries quickly and try to get back early in the afternoon."

The blonde rolled his eyes again. "Toris, you don't need to rush," he said in a neutral tone. "Just do what you normally do. I'll still be here when you get back, so don't worry."

Toris looked back at Feliks, surprised he had caught on so quickly to his anxiety. Either Feliks was very observant, or Toris was just being completely obvious with his thoughts.

Which, wouldn't surprise him either.

He finally gave the blond a nod. "Sorry," he apologized, feeling the embarrassment creep up again. "I'll see you later, then."

Before waiting for a response, Toris rushed out the door, the thought of finishing work early motivating him to move as quickly as possible. Because the sooner he finished up, the sooner he could be back with Feliks, to learn more about him and his world.

Because if Toris was certain about one thing, it was that he definitely wasn't falling for this creature.

~~()~~

As soon as Toris entered the central area of town, it became apparent that the air was different. It was obvious from the cautious way people moved and by the quiet bouts of gossip that something had happened. A surge of nerves went through Toris - he had a strong suspicion whatever had happened had to do with Feliks.

Luckily, or not so luckily, Toris had his suspicions confirmed when he found the first sign. His stomach twisted, seeing a fairly accurate sketch of Feliks underneath a written decree stating any information about this faery was to be reported to the king. The king made it clear any information about any faery was to be reported, but for him to post signs for a specific one, well, Toris had never seen it before.

As he continued on with his work, he noticed just how many of these signs had been made. It seemed every corner he turned and every building he approached had at least one sign. It was clear King Antonio wanted everyone to see this - it was clear he wanted Feliks badly. But why? What was it about him that made the king so desperate to find him?

Toris tried listening in to the gossip, hoping for some word as to what the king was after, even if it was complete nonsense made it up by him. However, the townsfolk weren't as boisterous with their gossip as per usual, and as Toris was nearing the end of his deliveries, he found he hadn't picked up any information. At that point, his nerves were completely on end, and he was trying to calm the anxiety that had been steadily building up. He was completely conflicted, feeling like Feliks would be safer if he went back to his kingdom. But at the same time, Toris thought he should recover, just so he didn't worsen his wound.

That, and he didn't want to see the faery leaving just yet, despite how selfish it sounded.

A sudden idea managed to weave its way into Toris' mind despite everything else going on in his head. He might not have heard any of the townspeople gossiping, but there _was_ one person he could trust enough to ask. And luckily, he had to make a delivery there anyways.

Without hesitation, Toris took off toward the library, walking as fast as he could without running. Upon arriving, he entered the doors and quickly began seeking the area for the person he was looking for. Luckily, he managed to find him rather quickly, and he walked calmly over to the bookshelf.

"Hey, Eduard," Toris said quietly despite the lack of people in the library.

Eduard turned to him, a smile forming on his face as he turned away from the shelf. "Toris," he greeted amiably, "How are you?"

Toris shrugged, forming a smile on his face, trying to act as normal as possible. "I'm fine," he responded, "and you?"

Eduard let out a small laugh. "Despite everyone else being on edge, I'm actually doing alright."

Ah, and there it was. Toris's opportunity to ask.

"Are you talking about this whole faery thing?" he asked, hoping to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Eduard nodded. "Yeah," he responded, "King Antonio really has everyone freaked out right now. He made it sound as if this faery isn't caught, the whole world is going to end or something."

Toris' heart caught, and he tried to swallow down the fear. "What did he say, exactly?" he asked cautiously, putting on a curious expression. "I went home early yesterday, so I haven't heard anything yet," he added to ease suspicion.

Eduard shrugged. "He said this faery is the most powerful one in existence, and he has come to reap destruction in our lands so the fae can take over." He paused to shake his head, then, "I'm not sure if that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it has to be at least partially true, otherwise he wouldn't be going through this much trouble to find him. That, and we all saw the injuries the guards sustained trying to catch this faery."

Toris frowned, his mind trailing on the first part as a million questions ran through his mind. Most powerful faery in existence, Feliks? But if he was so powerful, how could a group of knights harm him so easily? Couldn't he have easily defeated them?

He thought the king could have been lying about that, considering, if he was taking Feliks word, he had been lying about everything else. But, if he was lying, why would he still be so desperate for Feliks in particular?

Part of Toris wanted to ask Eduard, but he also didn't want to ask too much. He knew he could trust Eduard, but he also didn't want to give any indication he was involved. He figured at this point, the best source for answers was Feliks.

He finally nodded slowly. "Well, let's hope they find him," the brunette responded, turning his head away so he could grab an envelope from his bag. "Sorry for rushing," he continued, handing the envelope out to Eduard, "but this is for you. I do have quite a few more deliveries to make though, so I must be off."

Eduard nodded, taking the envelope with a smile. "Of course, I understand. Thanks for stopping though!"

Toris said his goodbyes, waving as he exited the library. He quickly walked down the street, turning the corner before stopping to breathe and think things over.

Toris knew there was a possibility of Feliks being a very powerful faery; however, he was almost certain the part about him wishing to destroy the human world was false. But if that was the case, what was the real reason the king wanted him? Toris' mind flashed back to what Feliks mentioned about names, and he wondered if King Antonio wished to use Feliks' name to obtain more power? But he was already the king, so what more could he need?

But, if it wasn't for Feliks' name, then what other reason did he have for wanting the faery?

Toris' head hurt with all this information, realizing he was completely out of his element here. He didn't know enough about the fae kingdom nor King Antonio's ambition to piece anything together, and quite honestly, it was frustrating him.

The brunette exhaled, sticking his hand inside his bag and feeling two more envelopes. That was two more deliveries he had before he could go home.

He took one last breath before hurrying off, knowing the sooner he completed them, the sooner he could get his answers.

~~()~~

Toris let out a yelp upon entering his home, almost dropping the belongings he had brought from his home. Feliks turned around calmly, giving Toris a questioning look as if confused as to why the brunette was so surprised.

"Toris, how can you live here when there's absolutely nothing in this house?" Feliks demanded, his brow furrowing. "There's no food, no clothes, nothing I could toy with besides some blankets and some diningware."

Toris, however, continued staring at the space behind Feliks, still unsure of how to react. After a few moments, he managed to find his voice again.

"Why is there a tree branch sticking through the window?" he asked, completely avoiding Feliks' question as he stared at the limb that took over at least half of the kitchen.

Feliks let out a confused noise before he turned around, as if suddenly remembering the massive branch being there. "Oh, yeah," he said, looking peaceful for a moment as he looked at one of the birds perched on the branch, before his angered expression took over again. "Well, because _someone_ has a super boring house, I had to do something. And you had this poor tree that was barely alive outside, so I figured I would help it grow. So, I think the words you're looking for are, 'you're welcome'," he finished, crossing his arms with a frown.

"Uh, right, thanks," Toris said hesitantly, staring at the tree for a few moments longer before finally turning his eyes toward Feliks. Eduard's information still ran through his mind, but standing in front of the faery, Toris was finding it hard to believe the information. Of course, he hadn't even known the faery for a day, but still. The brunette could sense power radiating from Feliks, but was it really so much to make him the most powerful in the kingdom of the fae?

"Uh, Toris?" he heard, snapping him from his thoughts as he met Feliks' frown. "You never answered my question."

Toris looked to him in confusion, and Feliks frowned even more, realizing he had forgotten the question. "Why is there nothing in this house?" he demanded again, almost scowling.

Oh right. Toris shook his head, finally getting his bearings enough to place his bag of belongings down on the table. "Sorry, this isn't my actual home," he explained, noting the look of confusion on the blond's face. "I live on the edge of town, but after seeing you weren't human, I didn't want to bring you there. I found this place when I was younger, and I stay out here sometimes if I want somewhere to relax. I figured you would be safer here, away from all the traffic entering and leaving town."

The frown on Feliks' face softened as a more thoughtful expression took over. "Don't you have a family or something though?" the faery asked, looking very confused. "Wouldn't they notice if you aren't home?"

Toris gave a light smile. "I don't actually live with my parents," he explained, earning an even more confused look from Feliks. "I originally come from a very remote village, but my father died when I was young, so someone needed to support my mother and grandmother. So, when I was twelve, I came out here and have lived here ever since so I could earn enough to support both myself and my family back home."

He noticed Feliks hesitate, almost as if he didn't know what to say or how to react. It was interesting to Toris - it made Feliks seem more human than not, making it even harder to believe he could or would ever harm anyone.

"So, what is it you actually do?" the blonde finally asked, moving on to a different question.

Despite the information from Eduard on the forefront of his mind, Toris decided to answer Feliks' questions, seeing as it was only fair considering he had his fair share of questions the day before. And, he figured talking about his work would eventually lead to his question for the faery.

"I just make deliveries to people in town," he answered with a shrug. "It's pretty easy, but I get to see and hear a lot, and I've also met plenty of people from it."

Feliks nodded again. "Alright, I have one more question before I'll let you ask yours."

Toris frowned. Was he acting different, indicating he was stressed or something? Or did Feliks simply assume he had more questions he hadn't covered yesterday?

"Oh, come on," Feliks continued, apparently catching on to Toris' confusion. "It's obvious there's something on your mind, so I can only guess something happened today."

Once again, Toris was caught off guard. He knew he shouldn't have been surprised, but it was hard to get used to someone who could read people so easily.

"R-right," he stammered, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear that had fallen loose from his hairtie. "Well, go ahead and ask your question first."

Feliks stared at him for another moment before finally speaking. "Humans have last names, right?" he asked, continuing without allowing Toris to respond just yet. "So what's yours?"

Toris hesitated, surprised by the simple question. He almost wanted to laugh, considering the lengthy questions he had asked, and was going to ask. A question like this seemed so...normal.

"Laurinaitis," he replied, a small smile forming on his face despite the nerves rolling around his stomach.

Feliks looked up as if deep in thought before nodding. "Laurinaitis," he repeated, testing the name out on his own tongue. "It's beautiful," he said, looking back to Toris.

The brunette looked back at him, unable to help his eyes from widening and a flush to form on his cheeks. A faery, saying his name was beautiful? He tried to stammer out a thanks, but Feliks cut him off before he could.

"Alright, so your question?" he asked, uncrossing his arms as he put a hand in his pocket instead.

Toris glanced down at the movement, not having noted until now how different Feliks dressed from the humans in his village. While the normal townsfolk dressed in simple clothing, made for practicality, Feliks' clothing seemed both elegant yet casual at the same time, although Toris couldn't tell how durable it was. His simple, straight black pants and loose fitting short sleeve, that somehow wasn't stained with blood anymore, was something he had never seen a human in his village wear. If Feliks' otherworldly beauty wasn't enough to give away what he was, his clothing surely would be an indication he was, at the very least, not from this area.

Toris felt eyes on him, and he glanced up to see Feliks gazing at him with his brow raised, waiting for the question. For the umpteenth time, Toris felt his face flush, hating the fact that he was so easily flustered by this faery while the other seemed so relaxed about everything.

"Uh, right." the brunette started, looking away again. There wasn't an easy or simple way to ask the question, so he knew he had to just spit it out.

"Feliks, just how powerful is your magic?" he more or less blurted out, hesitantly looking over at the blond to see his brow raised, looking almost confused. Toris winced, realizing how odd the question sounded.

Feliks opened his mouth to respond, but Toris cut him off before he could. "When I was in town today," he rushed on, glancing down every so often, "there were a bunch of flyers, ordering anyone with information about _you_ to report it to the king. And I was curious, because he's never gone after a specific faery before. So I asked someone in town what the big deal was, and he was saying that you're the most powerful of the fae in existence, and some other unimportant things that were probably just lies."

Toris felt Feliks gaze on him, but he couldn't read what the other was thinking. Irregardless, Toris knew he was rambling, and he had to finish so he could allow the faery to answer.

"I just wanted to know, is any of this true?"

The brunette timidly looked up at Feliks who was carefully maintaining a neutral expression. Silence engulfed the room, and Toris' nerves quickly increased. Did he make Feliks angry by asking? Considering they had only just met the previous day, maybe he had overstepped his bounds. But no, he had helped this faery and was protecting him, so didn't he have a right to know? He suddenly wasn't so sure about much anymore, save for the fact he might be quickly getting in over his head.

"I wouldn't exactly say I'm the 'most powerful faery alive'," Feliks said suddenly, disrupting the silence. His expression was still guarded, but Toris saw a bit of hesitation as well as the blond looked away. Toris' heart caught as it quickly dawned on him that the king could very well be correct. However, he tried to clear his mind so he could be fully receptive to whatever Feliks said.

"I mean, right now, I know plenty of the fae who are much more powerful than I am," the blonde continued, looking back at Toris. "Those fae have perfected their abilities right down to the dime, and at this point, I wouldn't be able to beat them in a fight."

Toris frowned, picking up on a few words that seemed key. "You said 'right now', and 'at this point'," he said slowly, his mind forming a blurry picture of what could potentially be the situation. "So does this mean in the future, you could be stronger than them?"

The faery stared at him for a moment in silence before softly shaking his head. "You're very observant for a human," he noted, his voice taking on a light tone of amusement before returning to its neutral tone. "But yes," he responded calmly, "with proper training, I have the potential to be more powerful than any of the fae in the kingdoms, including both the kings."

Toris felt his breath catch at the information. Despite already having the suspicion, it was different hearing it from the faery himself. He tried to calm his heart down, not wanting to overreact. After all, it didn't seem easy for Feliks to admit this either - despite how calm he was trying to act, Toris could see the slightest bit of fear in his cool green eyes.

After several moments of silence in which it seemed Feliks was going to remain quiet, Toris spoke up. "What is it about you that will make you stronger than the others?" he asked quietly, surprised his voice wasn't shaking.

Another moment of silence, then, "Faeries only have one ability," Feliks explained, "and their power depends on what their ability is and how much they can perfect it. But me, I'm the only faery that has multiple abilities. So, theoretically," he said with a shrug, "if I was trained to strengthen the abilities I have, I could become stronger than the others."

Again, Toris picked up on his word usage. "But you aren't being trained," he stated rather than questioned.

Feliks shrugged again. "I can use the abilities I have just fine," he replied, and this time, Toris could hear what seemed like stress in his voice. "So I don't see the point in perfecting them all," he continued. "I don't want to be the most powerful - there's really no point. Like, I don't want my friends and other faeries to be afraid of me or anything. I'm content being at as normal of a level as I can with my abilities."

Toris nodded, his thoughts running wild with all this information. He thought yesterday was wild, finding an injured faery and bringing him home. But the fact that he had saved one with potential to be the strongest of the fae? Words couldn't even begin to explain the situation.

However, looking at Feliks made Toris see him differently. He had been so confident, but now he appeared almost...vulnerable. It was obvious to Toris he wasn't too fond of the position he was in, not that Toris could blame him. To have all that potential must have put a lot of pressure on him, especially if he was rejecting those who could help him become stronger.

But the more Toris thought about it, it didn't really make sense. He didn't know much about the fae kingdom, but what would cause Feliks to be the only one able to use multiple abilities?

"Has there ever been a faery who could do this?" the brunette asked curiously, his mind already searching for explanations.

Feliks shook his head. "Never."

Toris frowned. He had heard of myths and other tales about creatures or people being born to help resolve a situation that would take place in the future. He didn't know about the fae kingdom, but maybe it was possible Feliks was born for this purpose? Although he didn't know what the situation was - as far as Toris knew, everything was how it normally was. There didn't seem to be any sort of existential crisis coming along the horizon.

Or, it could be this was just some random thing with no reasoning other than it just happened. But even so, the whole thing was still odd to Toris, even if he was a complete outsider to Feliks' world. Considering that, he could only imagine what the other fae thought about it.

All too quickly, Toris realized he had been quiet for too long, and he glanced up at Feliks to see the slightest hint of nervousness in the faery, taking him by surprise. Was Feliks really that nervous for Toris' thoughts on the topic? He didn't think his opinion mattered that much to the faery, but the look on Feliks' face made Toris think otherwise.

The brunette let out a sigh. "Well, I guess this just means showing me your ability is going to take a lot longer now."

Feliks looked to him in surprise, clearly not having expected that reaction. "You aren't scared or anything?" he asked, confusion in his tone.

Toris' heart beat faster as he stared into the faery's wide eyes. Feliks was already beautiful, but seeing him like this, with less confidence, only tugged at his heartstrings even more. Toris knew it was a problem that he was becoming this attached to the faery, but he ignored it, telling himself he would deal with it when the time came.

"I trust you," the brunette responded simply, keeping a light tone.

Toris wasn't sure if the fae had better hearing than humans, but if they did, he was sure Feliks could hear his heart beating by this point. Feliks' disbelieving expression quickly turned into one of relief, and a smile formed on his face, and Toris had to remind himself to breathe.

"In that case," the blonde said, moving over and grabbing Toris' hand, "let's go outside, and I'll show you a few things!"

Before Toris could react, he was dragged outside so they were standing right outside the small house. On instinct, Toris glanced around, making sure no one was in the area. They didn't need any knights finding the two, especially if Feliks was doing magic, or whatever the fae said.

"Okay, so obviously you know already that I can help plants grow, considering that tree branch in your kitchen," Feliks said, causing Toris to return his glance. "So why don't I show you a few other things?'

Toris brushed a hand through his hair, about to respond, but he stopped as he saw Feliks turn away, closing his eyes as he faced the forest line. Toris watched quietly, waiting for something to happen. He didn't know what to expect, but he had to admit, watching Feliks stand there in silence, as the breeze blew his hair gently around his face, wasn't what he expected. Although, as much as he didn't want to admit it, he wasn't minding it, and he found he was losing sense of everything as he solely focused on the faery.

Suddenly, a lone deer appeared at the edge of the forest, and without hesitation made its way over to the pair. Toris watched with wide eyes as it approached Feliks with no fear at all. Feliks gave her a gentle smile, reaching his hand out to pet her head. It was silent for a few moments until the blond turned to Toris with an excited smile.

"Come on," he said, beckoning him over, "I told Ame you're a friend. She'll let you pet her as long as you're gentle."

Ame? So the deer had a name?

Feliks turned back to Ame as Toris slowly walked over, placing his hand as softly as he could on her forehead. He pet her as gently as possible, marveling at how soft she was. He had never been this close to a deer before - they all stayed away from the humans as they were often hunted for their meat and fur.

"One of my abilities is that I can call for and communicate with animals in your human world," Feliks explained, keeping his eyes on Ame. "I can tell them things, and I can hear what they are telling me in return, so it's pretty cool. I actually sent a bird earlier to tell one of my friends back in the fae kingdom not to worry about my absence."

Toris nodded, too awed to speak. The ability to speak to animals and know what they thought must have been incredible.

"Her family is waiting in the woods, so I'm going to tell her she can leave, okay Toris?" Feliks asked, turning his head to the side.

The brunette nodded again, this time finding words. "Of course," he breathed out, giving her one last pet before she took off. Feliks was now grinning at Toris - it was clear the faery could tell how amazed he was and was excited by it.

"Watch this too," Feliks said, eager to show something else.

Toris suddenly felt the breeze pick up, and the sound of rustling leaves and moving branches could be heard across the field. It picked up even more, almost as if a storm was approaching. However, it was obvious it was the faery controlling the wind around them, and once again, Toris was at a loss for words. Feliks wasn't even raising his arms to control them or anything - he was simply standing there, using what Toris assumed was his mind to direct the speed and direction.

Within moments, the wind died down, returning to the gentle breeze that existed before Feliks began tampering with it.

"I was told with proper training, I could make a giant windstorm, maybe even a tornado if I wanted," Feliks said, joy radiating through his tone, "Or even enclose someone in the wind. It's all about precision training and control, but I figured doing things like this is cool enough."

Toris' eyes widened ever so slightly, despite figuring he shouldn't be surprised at this point. Feliks had the potential to be able to create storms as great as a tornado? That wasn't impressive - that was _incredible._ If he had the capability to do something like that, it was no wonder the king wanted him that badly.

The sudden thought made Toris frown, confusion setting in. He figured out the king was telling the truth about Feliks' power, and hearing that made him forget about the rest and probably most important part, being why did the king want that power in the first place?

"Toris, is everything alright?" Feliks asked, pulling the brunette from his thoughts.

He looked up to see a frown on Feliks' face, looking slightly nervous again.

Toris quickly shook his head, afraid he gave Feliks the impression he was getting nervous himself from his abilities. "Yes, I'm fine," he replied, wincing at how fake his voice sounded. It was clear from his dubious look, Feliks caught on, and Toris knew there was no point in hiding his thoughts.

"Sorry," he continued, feeling bad for ruining their fun, "I was just thinking about why the king would want your abilities that much. I mean, what would be his point in taking you?"

The faery let out a small, humorless laugh. "Remember what I told you yesterday, about those in power?" he asked, continuing on before allowing Toris to answer. "Humans always want more than they need. They are never satisfied. So, if I could take a guess, he probably wants a powerful faery to obtain more land, subjects, and money."

The brunette frowned. King Antonio had always been an excellent leader, always doing what he could for his people. Toris had never had any issues with him, and neither did the others in his kingdom. It made all of this information and uncovered lies hard to swallow, despite realizing it was indeed the truth.

"But even then," Toris started, a lot still sounding illogical to him, "he would need your real name to command you to do anything, right?"

Feliks nodded. "And he would most likely torture me until I gave my name or did what he asked, or torture my faery friends if he figured out who they were."

Toris grimaced, not wanting to think about that. "How did he even figure out about your abilities?" the brunette wondered out loud, curious if Feliks had thought about that too.

The faery shrugged. "Beats me. It could be some human legend that warned them of a faery like me. But it doesn't explain how he knows it's me in particular."

Toris noticed Feliks' brow furrow, and a thought came to Toris' mind. From the look on the blonde's face, he had a feeling he had considered the same possibility.

"Do you think one of your own could have told him?" he asked as lightly as possible, not wanting to tread into dangerous waters.

However, Feliks seemed unperturbed. "It's possible," he said in agreement. "Although I don't get why they would. It's not like we would benefit out of any of the king's endeavors."

Toris nodded, agreeing to that. The whole situation was rather odd, and it surprised Toris it took so long for him to see all the holes in the story. There was so much more he didn't know, and it seemed as though Feliks was in the same boat. He didn't know if that was more good or bad, but he had a feeling it was probably leaning toward the latter.

He glanced at the blonde to see him staring off in the distance, his guarded expression back. Toris immediately felt bad - he figured he had upset or bothered Feliks with talk of this, ruining his excitement from before.

"I'm sorry," he apologized again, watching as Feliks returned his gaze back. "I didn't mean to spoil the fun."

Feliks watched him silently before a smile broke out on his face. "You didn't spoil anything," he responded, amusement tracing through his voice. "Besides, I didn't have much left to show you anyways. One of my other abilities is that I can portal between the fae kingdom to the human world instantly and to any location, as long as I've been there. The other, which isn't really an ability, is that I can sense when someone I'm close to is feeling very intense emotions. But obviously I can't show you those," he finished, his voice coming back to life.

Toris glanced at Feliks curiously, his interest sparked by the last one. "What do you mean, when someone is feeling really intense emotions?" he asked. "What does it feel like to you?"

Feliks looked ahead as if thinking. He was silent for a few moments before finally responding. "It depends on the emotion someone is feeling," he started, speaking a little bit slower as if carefully considering the words he used to explain it. "So if one of my close friends is extremely angry, for example, I'll feel a flash of extreme anger, and I don't really know how, but my head kind of can figure out who is feeling that way."

Toris nodded. The idea was abstract, and he didn't understand completely, but it was very interesting. "It must be good if something is wrong with someone," he commented, "because that way, you can help, right?"

Feliks hesitated briefly before responding. "Yes, it's definitely useful in that aspect," he agreed, but there was something else in his tone that indicated there was more.

"It can be hard though," the faery continued, looking off into the distance again with his hands in his pockets. "Especially if someone's hurting, but you can't really do anything about it."

Toris looked to Feliks questioningly. He could see from Feliks' face he was thinking about something else, and Toris could tell something had happened to Feliks and something else that made him able to attest to the statement he said. Toris wanted to ask about it, but he wasn't sure if it was his place to ask.

Luckily, he didn't have to because after several moments, Feliks began talking again, this time turning back face to Toris.

"One of my friends was betrayed by a human whom he had given his name to," the blonde began, looking like his mind was eons away. "And the emotions he felt, especially when it first happened…." he trailed off, searching for the right words. Toris waited patiently, his heart already at the bottom of his stomach. From what he pieced together from Feliks, a situation like this was probably one of the worst things that could happen to a faery.

"Knowing that he was feeling those emotions," the faery started again, seemingly still struggling with his words, "it was horrible, especially because no matter what I or any of the others did, nothing we did could help him.

"And after the first week or so, I could still sense his hurt, even though he had put up a wall on the outside and acted so calm in front of everyone. And I think that was even worse - seeing him act like he was fine, but knowing it was taking every ounce of strength for him to even get out of bed."

He paused, and Toris' stomach churned with sympathy, both for the blonde and for whoever his friend was. Not that he had experienced it himself, but from what he had heard, heartbreak was no easy thing to deal with. And for Feliks to deal with the fact he couldn't help a friend out through it, that must have been extremely hard to deal with.

Toris was unsure of what to say, but luckily, Feliks spoke up before he had to think of anything. "Sorry," he said, looking back at Toris with a small smile. "I don't want to bore you with that."

The brunette was about to say he wasn't bored but rather intrigued by it all, but the faery continued before he had the chance. "When do you humans eat your meals? Because I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

Toris looked to him, surprised by the normalcy of the question. Most of the things they had been discussing had been so abstract, so it was almost nice to be back in familiar territory. And, as he looked at the position of the sun, he realized it was around dinner time anyways.

The brunette gave Feliks a smile, nodding his head toward the hut. "Come on," he said, "I can make us something now."

Feliks' eyes lit up, and he ran to the hut, beating Toris inside. Toris' heart stopped for what was the umpteenth time that day as he watched the faery go, his eagerness something else. Toris bit his lip, knowing the faery was only staying for another two days, if that. He knew he shouldn't be getting so attached to Feliks, but at the same time, he couldn't help himself from finding everything he did so… beautiful.

Toris glanced over at Feliks, seeing him puttsing around in the kitchen. He then pictured the kitchen empty, knowing this would be the case in a few days time. So the question was, would he continue allowing himself to fall for the faery in hopes something would happen, or would he try to cut it off before his feelings became too strong?

"Toris, hurry up and get in here!" he heard from the kitchen, startling him from his thoughts.

He hesitated one more moment before walking in, deciding to put off thinking about it until tonight. After all, he had a dinner to make, and seeing as it was probably the first human meal Feliks was going to have, he had to make it something good. After all, first impressions were everything, right?


	4. Chapter 4

Feliks looked at his wound, seeing that it was already scabbed over, no longer in danger of reopening. Not that it was the previous day either - following Toris' orders to rest for a little while gave his body all the time it needed to work on the wound. The only reason Feliks had even agreed to stay in the first place was to make sure he restored his energy, but it was obvious to him he was fine to go back to his kingdom now. However, some part of him was hesitant, almost reluctant to leave. He chalked it up to keeping his promise to the human to stay four days, but a small part of him knew it was much more than that.

It had only been three days since meeting Toris, but in that time, the human had managed to completely peak Feliks' interest. His natural curiosity, his willingness to listen, all these things that weren't typical from other humans completely enthralled Feliks. He knew he probably should be acting more cautious, but it was hard not to tell the human about his world, especially because he found very quickly he trusted Toris completely.

And he had doubted it at first too, the complete faith he had in the human, because he was sure it was what other faeries felt toward humans as well, until they were betrayed. However, something deep in his consciousness told him Toris was different, and he would remain completely harmless, never developing intentions to deceive Feliks. He didn't know if it was some sort of small ability, or if it was just intuition. Either way, he found he had nothing to lose by becoming closer with the human.

As Feliks gazed out over the forest from the high branches of a tree, he contemplated staying a little while longer, just to get to know the human more. He had already told Elizabeta he was fine, so it wasn't as though he was worrying anyone by being gone too long. And it wasn't as though he was missing anything by being away for some time.

But he knew that wasn't where the issue lied. The amount of knights searching for him had increased, and it was only a matter of time before they discovered his location. It wasn't as though that was a problem though - Feliks knew he could easily defeat them. No, the issue was with Toris - by remaining with the human, Feliks had put him in danger by getting him involved. He knew too much about Feliks, and if the king found out about his involvement, there was no way he would simply let it go. Even if the king took Feliks, Toris would still be punished.

Feliks frowned, guilt gnawing at his stomach. If only he had realized sooner how desperately the king wanted him, he would have left that first night. Now, the situation had complicated, both with his own feelings and the external situation, and he didn't know what to do. He figured it would be best to leave Toris, because that way, he wouldn't have any information to give the king in the off chance he was questioned. However, Feliks wasn't oblivious - he noticed Toris was enjoying his presence, and his leaving would definitely hurt the human despite ensuring his safety.

The more selfish part of Feliks wanted to stay with the human just a little while longer, building the trust he had with him. Then, maybe after a week or two, he could come and go from the kingdom as he pleased to visit Toris. It would be risky because he would have to avoid all the knights, but it would be worth it as long as they were careful.

He let out a small sigh, looking back toward the direction of the village to see Toris walking toward their place. And as he neared, Feliks could see from the stiffness in his shoulders how tense the human was. He seemed extremely nervous, and once again, guilt churned in Feliks' stomach. Of course Toris was nervous, and it was Feliks' fault for making him feel that way. He wouldn't feel as though he were in danger if Feliks didn't put him in that position.

The blonde remained in the tree for a few more moments, coming to a decision. He didn't know what he was feeling for Toris, whether it was a developing friendship, or whether he would develop other feelings. Regardless, if he wanted to keep him safe, Feliks knew he had to leave, even if it did hurt Toris.

Finally making up his mind, Feliks began descending down the tree. He wanted to get to the house before Toris so he didn't worry the human with his absence. And then, he would have the talk with him.

~~()~~

Toris opened the door to find Feliks seated at the table, the sight of the faery calming his nerves ever so slightly. The entire day, he had been completely anxious, what with all the knights patrolling about. His mind was consumed with Feliks, afraid the knights would find the house while Toris was gone and would take Feliks away. It terrified him, and he hurried as quickly as he could to finish his deliveries. But, if anything, his nerves only increased on the walk back because there were quite a few knights patrolling out toward the woods. It was too close for comfort, and it was only a matter of time before they found the house. If only Toris could figure out when they would find it, and he could have Feliks hide somewhere else.

But then again, he thought, his stomach suddenly queasy, tomorrow would be the fourth day, meaning the faery would be leaving. Toris knew it was for the best considering he was in danger here, but at the same time, he didn't want to say goodbye to the blond just yet. And he knew Feliks had other friends in his kingdom and a life to return to, but a small part of Toris had hoped that maybe, just maybe, Feliks could stay just a little longer.

"Hi Feliks," Toris greeted, trying to keep the stress from his voice. "How was your day?"

The faery looked up at Toris, and there was something in his eyes that made Toris' stomach drop for at least the tenth time that day.

"Toris, I need to talk to you," Feliks said, and from the neutral expression he formed on his face, Toris knew he was trying to hide what he was feeling.

The brunette sat down at the table across from Feliks and nodded, nerves bubbling inside. "What's going on?" he asked, although truthfully, he didn't want to hear the answer.

Feliks was silent for several moments, staring down at the table before managing to make eye contact with Toris. He took a small breath before speaking.

"I need to leave," he said simply, and before Toris could even process the feeling of his heart sinking to the bottom of his chest, the faery continued. "I've already put you in enough danger by staying here, and I don't want you to get hurt because I'm being selfish. So, I'm leaving today so you can be safe."

Toris stared at him, allowing his mind to process the words he had just been told. Feliks was going to leave today? But, it seemed so...soon. No, Toris wasn't ready, and it was clear from Feliks' eyes that he didn't really want to leave. So why was he saying this?

"No," Toris said, surprised by the word leaving his lips. Feliks' head snapped up in surprise as well as he looked at Toris with a frown. The faery looked as though he was about to speak, but Toris cut him off before he could.

"If you want to leave because you want to go back home and be with your friends, or if it's because _your_ life is in danger, I would be okay with that," Toris started in a firm voice. "I understand that you have another life, and if you want to go back to that, I wouldn't stop you. But if you're doing this to protect me, then I won't let you go just yet. I can make my own decisions, and if staying with you puts me in danger, then that's the choice I'm making."

Toris stopped, keeping a hard gaze on Feliks. Surprise was evident on Feliks' face, and part of Toris was glad he had been so straightforward. He wasn't sure how the faery felt toward him, but in spite of that, he wanted Feliks to understand he enjoyed being around him on the off chance the feeling was reciprocated.

After several beats of silence, Feliks' expression suddenly turned angry. "Toris, I don't think you understand the extent of the situation you're in," he responded, his voice becoming more heated. "If the king finds out you were involved with me, you'll be tortured and killed, even if you give him information. And I'm not about to let you risk that."

Toris kept his face blank, although on the inside he was a bit torn. Would the king really do something like that? It was hard for him to think that since he had grown up only knowing the generosity of the king.

"How would he find out?" Toris asked, trying to keep his voice calm. "If they find this house, it doesn't belong to anyone, so they can't trace it back to me. And it's not like I'm missing work or doing anything suspicious."

"How about if they see you with me?" Feliks snapped, his eyes narrowed in frustration. "They'll come here eventually, and what if we're both here at the same time? Have you thought about that?"

Taken aback by his tone, Toris didn't respond immediately, suddenly unsure of how to proceed. Everything Feliks was saying was true, Toris knew. But despite all that, he didn't care - call it blind hope, but he really thought if they were careful, no one would find out. And if they did and came for Toris, he was almost positive there would be some way the two of them could escape. There was no way he couldn't get out of the situation if it happened.

But over all that, it was still his curiosity for the faery that trumped everything. Toris was beginning to realize his own safety wasn't as important anymore, but rather Feliks was becoming more to him than he ever should have. Toris knew he was acting recklessly, but he didn't care. He didn't want to lose Feliks just yet, but how to convince him to stay?

"Feliks," he started, keeping his voice soft in hopes it would get the other to calm down, "I know it probably sounds stupid, but I've only just started to get to know you, and I don't want you to leave just yet. And I know you're in the same position too. I know it's risky, but can you at least consider staying another week, and we can see what happens from there?"

Feliks eyes were still ablaze, but Toris could see the fire begin to slowly die down. He glared at Toris in a silence that stretched on for what felt like ages, until at long last, he opened his mouth to speak.

"Nothing I say will convince you to change your mind, right?" the faery said, his voice once again concealing his emotion.

Toris nodded before a sudden thought occurred to him. "Besides, it's not like I'm the only one in danger. You're in a worse position than I am, so I don't know if you should be lecturing me on my safety."

Feliks raised a brow. "You're the one convincing me to stay," he stated, "so I don't know if that's exactly helping your argument."

Toris felt a twinge of nervousness, suddenly afraid he just gave Feliks another reason to leave. However, the slightest bit of amusement made its way onto Feliks face, indicating he wasn't entirely being serious. Relief flooded Toris - he was almost positive he had convinced the faery to remain a little while longer.

The two were silent again as Toris waited for Feliks - he looked as though he were thinking, and he didn't want to interrupt.

Finally, the blonde sighed before turning his cool gaze back to Toris. "Fine," he relented, sounding both relieved and reluctant at the same time. "But only another week. And if things die down a bit, then I will consider coming and going from the kingdom. But _only_ if there is no risk of you getting caught, understood?"

Toris felt as though his heart was about to leap out of his chest, and he held back a grin. "Of course, I understand."

Feliks stared at him for a moment longer before letting out another sigh. "Humans," he muttered in mock annoyance. "Now I see why we're warned to stay away from you."


	5. Chapter 5

**Note : Sorry for the long build, but the main plot will ensue and things will pick up at and after this chapter!**

Feliks and Toris were lying outside under a blanket of stars, seven nights since having met each other. The two had developed some sort of routine since then, where Toris would go to work, and Feliks would wander carefully around the woods, doing his own thing. Then, when Toris came home, the two would talk, taking the time to learn more and more about each other.

Feliks briefly told Toris about his friends back in the fae kingdom and some of the stories centered around them, and in return, Toris told him about the few he was acquainted with. Besides that, Feliks asked about his hobbies, what he liked and didn't like, and anything that came to his mind. Feliks inquired about what Toris wanted to do in the future and learned the brunette didn't have big dreams other than potentially having a family of his own. It didn't surprise Feliks, really, because Toris just seemed like the type of person to enjoy a peaceful sort of life.

The more he learned about Toris, the more he desired to remain here with him. The past week had been so different for the faery, but in a good way. Yes, the threat of being caught by the knights was still there, but remaining hidden near the forest made him feel untouchable, like the two would never be found. It was almost peaceful being here, because Feliks didn't feel the pressure to practice his abilities and perfect them like the king wished him to do.

Of course, he did miss being with his friends and being able to roam around without worry. That, and he knew being away from the kingdom for this long was draining his energy, meaning his abilities were becoming weaker. Going back to the kingdom would fix that, but Feliks didn't want to leave just yet, even if it was only for a day or two. As much as he didn't want to admit, he was falling for this human.

Feliks glanced over, the moonlight illuminating Toris' eyes so they shined just so. He was staring up at the sky with eyes full of wonder, causing Feliks to give a small smile. He had decided a few days back that it was this expression on the human that he loved the most - that when he looked so curious and amazed. The human's wonderlust never failed to put a smile on Feliks' face, especially since some of the most seemingly small things could intrigue Toris to a great degree.

Toris must have felt him staring, because he turned his head to face the faery with a curious look. Feliks felt himself blush, something he wasn't used to but was slowly becoming accustomed to.

"Sorry," he said, although he didn't turn away. "I just couldn't help but notice how beautiful you look right now."

It was hard to tell in the dark, but Feliks could see the slightest tinge of pink form across Toris' cheeks. It made the faery smile even more - Toris got flustered so easily, and his reactions were quickly becoming a steady source of amusement for Feliks.

"T-thanks," Toris stammered in response, averting his eyes toward the ground in embarrassment.

Feliks was silent, simply taking a few moments to admire the human lying beside him. Never had he imagined he would be doing this - considering what he had seen from humans and from their history with the fae, Feliks never could have pictured himself even speaking to or interacting with a human. But here he was, losing himself in one's eyes right now, unable to think of anything else besides him.

"What's on your mind?" Toris asked quietly, breaking the silence as his eyes now turned back to Feliks.

The faery stared at Toris for several moments before finally responding. "Just thinking about how this is the last thing I thought I would ever be doing in my life," he replied, a small smile playing on his face. "Yet here I am, lying underneath the stars with my sworn enemy."

Toris cracked a smile as he turned his head back toward the stars. "It's funny how things work out, isn't it?" he murmured.

Feliks' heart beat resoundingly in his chest as he turned to smile up at the sky, choosing to focus only on the here and now. Toris was right - it was indeed interesting, and Feliks knew that he and Toris could make this situation work out somehow.

He didn't know how long they remained there, only that after some time, he could see Toris' eyes fluttering shut in the darkness as he tried to keep himself from falling asleep. His feeble attempts amused Feliks, but he knew it wouldn't be smart to allow the human to fall asleep out here.

Gracefully, the blonde stood up, offering his hand to Toris. "I reckon it's late enough," he said with a smile as Toris looked up at him sleepily. "You need some rest, so why don't we call it a night?"

The human nodded, accepting Feliks' hand without hesitation. Feliks' pulled him up, Toris catching himself before stumbling into him. The two stared at each other for a moment, and Feliks felt as though time itself had stopped. He lost sense of everything around him, the only thing existing in that moment being the human standing right in front of him, skin almost glowing under the moonlight shining down on them. It was utterly breathtaking, and it was all Feliks could do to keep himself from leaning in closer, seeing what it would be like to kiss a human.

He took a breath, trying to bring himself back to the present. Toris looked like he would pass out at any moment, and Feliks didn't want to delay him from sleep any longer. Without having to say another word, the two began walking back toward the house, the only thought on Feliks' mind being that he wished things could be like this forever.

~~()~~

Toris made his way back home, the thought of seeing Feliks putting a smile on his face. It had been nearly two weeks now, and the faery hadn't left yet. He claimed it was because it was too dangerous to go back to his kingdom because one of the knights may see him leaving or entering from the concealed entrance, but Toris knew it was more than that. It was obvious that whatever Toris was feeling, Feliks felt the same, and that whatever was forming between them was something they didn't want to break.

He reached the house, and without any further hesitation, he pushed open the door. However, before he could see if the faery was home, he was greeted with the sight of three knights standing in the kitchen. His heart plummeted into his stomach as they turned to face him.

 _No,_ he thought to himself, frozen to the spot. _They didn't find Feliks, did they?_

"What are you doing here?" one of the knights asked, his tone harsh.

Toris opened his mouth, but no words came out at first. He heard footsteps coming from upstairs, and within moments, three more knights had appeared, making a total of six.

 _This isn't good,_ he thought, becoming increasingly nervous.

The knight who spoke took a step closer. "No one lives here, yet there are enough provisions and beds made for two. So let me ask again - why are you here?"

"I live on the edge of town," Toris started, going with the truth - at least, the truth before he met Feliks. "I come here sometimes if I just need a break from the village and all the people. But it's just me here."

The knight looked at him distrustfully despite the confidence in Toris' voice, and with a sinking feeling, Toris realized all of these men were on to him.

Before he could react, the knight was in front of the brunette, grabbing his arm and twisting him around before holding a dagger up to Toris' throat. His breath caught, stunned by the sudden movement and from the pain of his arm being twisted behind his back.

"You can cut the crap," the man snapped, sending chills down Toris' spine. "Now, if you value your life, you'll tell me where the faery is that you've been keeping here."

Toris willed his face to remain blank. Had they really figured this all out simply by looking through the house and seeing people living here? Or were they just hoping that if they acted tough enough, they could get Toris to speak, regardless of whether he was involved or not?

Hoping it was the latter, Toris decided to play dumb. "I don't know," he said, allowing the fear to creep into his voice in hopes it would make him seem innocent. "I swear, I haven't seen that faery King Antonio is looking for!"

Unfortunately, his plea didn't work. His arm was twisted even further behind his back, and this time, Toris couldn't help but allow a gasp to escape his lips. The knife was brought even closer to his throat, and Toris could feel a few droplets of blood drip down his neck.

"Don't make me ask again," the knight hissed. "Where is he?"

It was in that moment that Toris realized these knights would do whatever it took to get information on Feliks, and fear rang clear through his system. He knew they wouldn't kill him because they knew he had information about Feliks, but it didn't mean they wouldn't torture him, as Feliks had said before. But, Toris couldn't allow them to capture the faery either, because if they did, not only would Feliks be in danger, but so would the rest of the village. Toris' mind was running through anything and everything he could do to get out of this, but he was drawing a blank. His panic increased even more as he began to realize there really was no way out of this.

Suddenly, the door was pushed forcefully open, and everyone turned to look at the intruder. Toris' eyes widened upon the sight.

"Let him go," Feliks said, his voice deadly calm as he stood in the entry way.

The knights immediately brought their hands to their swords, but the one holding Toris, who he assumed was their leader, remained exactly where he was.

"And why should I do that?" the man responded, pleasure seeping into his tone.

Feliks' hard glare didn't waver. "You know that I can kill you and all your men in a heartbeat," he said, keeping his gaze on the man without trying to make any attempt at making eye contact with Toris. "But, if you let him go and promise to leave him alone, I will go willingly with you."

Toris' eyes widened as he stared at Feliks, willing the faery to look at him. However, he still refused to look at him, causing the brunette to panic even more than he already was. He tried to struggle out from the knight's grip, but he held him firmly, giving him no room to move.

The knight let out a sharp laugh in response. "You really expect us to leave him alone?" he questioned, amusement in his voice. "This boy is involved - there's no way he is being left alone without being punished for treason first."

Feliks' expression remained the same, and with a sinking feeling, Toris realized the faery had been expecting this. It was now painstakingly obvious from the way Feliks spoke and held himself that he had expected this all along, and that he had planned to give himself up in hopes of protecting Toris. But if had expected the knights to reject his offer, then what was he planning next?

Before anyone could react, Feliks brought his hands together, and a soft, blue light quickly formed between them. The head knight let out a snarl, telling his men to secure the faery immediately. And they did, of course, but not before Feliks released the light, sending it flying at Toris. The light engulfed him, and he suddenly felt a dizzying sensation as the room began to slowly disappear.

 _Tell Elizabeta I sent you here,_ Toris heard in his head, quickly distinguishing Feliks' voice.

He turned toward the faery, but in that moment, the room blurred from sight until all he saw was white. A torrent of emotions ran through him, including panic, anger and confusion, and it wasn't until Toris suddenly found himself in a large, unfamiliar room that he realized what Feliks had done.

 _He transported me to the fae kingdom._

 _No, no no no no,_ he thought, trying his hardest not to go into a complete panic. But why had Feliks done that? Why did he just give himself up, just like that without a fight? Did he think sending Toris here would really protect him, and that he would really stay here while Feliks was being held captive?

Realizing his breathing was picking up, Toris took several deep breaths to try and calm himself down. He couldn't freak out like this - if he was going to get out of here, he needed to remain calm. Feliks sent him here, thinking it was for the best. And, he was told Elizabeta's name - so, maybe she could help Toris get out of here and back into his own world.

Suddenly, Toris heard the sound of a door being opened, and he turned toward it, another bout of fear coursing through his body at the thought of an unfamiliar faery entering. The figure quickly came into view, revealing it to be a female faery, with long brown hair and light green eyes. She had a calm expression, until her eyes met Toris'.

Before he had any time to think, the girl had what appeared to be a frying pan in her grip, and she held it above her head with a murderous glare, looking ready to attack. Toris' heart dropped in his stomach, and he rushed to explain himself.

"Wait, are you Elizabeta?" he rushed, forcing himself to remain in place and not take several steps back.

The murderous glare in her eyes lightened ever so slightly, but the frying pan remained in her grip. "How do you know my name?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

Toris swallowed before answering. "Um, Feliks sent me here," he replied, hoping against hope this was indeed Elizabeta. "He sent me here, but I don't know why, because he's in danger, and I need to help him."

The faery stared at him, and Toris realized with embarrassment he had started to ramble yet again, this time to a complete stranger. However, much to his surprise, she lowered the frying pan, placing it down on a desk with a sigh. She seemed to relax, and Toris took this as an indication his life wasn't in danger at the moment.

"So you're the human Feliks has become infatuated with," the female said, raising a brow, continuing before Toris could respond. "Well, you're correct. I am Elizabeta. And from the sounds of it, it looks like I'm going to be bailing Feliks out of trouble yet again."


	6. Chapter 6

After realizing Toris was no threat but rather a nervous wreck, Elizabeta had him sit down, allowing Toris to recount what had happened. He was surprised by her openness considering how wary the fae were of the humans, but he figured it had something to do with her trusting Feliks. So, he explained how he had come home, only to find the guards in his house searching for Feliks, and how when Feliks showed up, he didn't even fight the knights, opting instead to send Toris here.

"King Antonio wants Feliks specifically for his abilities," Toris finished, eyes turned downward toward the table as guilt clawed at his insides. "And we both believe he wants to use them for his own gain. It's my fault he got caught, so I need to get him out of there as soon as possible."

Elizabeta's face had remained stoic throughout the retelling, but she raised a brow at the last statement.

"I agree that we need to get Feliks out of there," she responded, leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed, "but if you think you can go alone and take on all the king's men, you're out of your mind. Have you even held a sword before?"

Toris opened his mouth to reply, but he didn't have the words to answer her question. He hadn't ever held a sword, hadn't ever had combat training. So of course, he would be completely out of his element if he went to find Feliks and bring him back. But, there had to be a way to get in and out with minimal conflict. And even if there wasn't, well, he didn't have an option - he had to try.

His face must have given it away because Elizabeta continued on. "I'm not sending you back to the human world only to allow you to be slaughtered because you're being foolish," she said, her voice sounding surprisingly concerned despite only having met Toris.

Despite his surprise at her tone, a spark of frustration went through him. "Elizabeta," he started, trying to keep his voice even, "I am not going to sit here while the king is doing who knows what to Feliks. I _need_ to go and help him - there's no other option."

She raised a brow again, a hint of amusement on her face. "I know," she said, "and I'm not saying I'm keeping you here forever. But what I _am_ suggesting is before you go on a suicide mission, you at least have some combat training first."

Toris stared at her, not having expected this at all. Receive combat training from a faery? The prospect sounded intriguing, but at the same time, it was more time Feliks was left with the king.

The brunette shook his head. "I don't have time for that," he insisted despite knowing the practicality of staying.

"Look, human," Elizabeta said in a calming voice, "You receiving at least five days of training will benefit both you and the other faeries coming with you to the king's palace. We can defend ourselves, but we can't keep all our focus on defending you. So, if you can at least hold your own, it will make the mission go much more smoothly."

Toris nodded, although he suddenly stopped as her words set in. "Other faeries?" he questioned, confusion settling in. "I don't understand."

She sighed, although a smile played on her lips. "Feliks is in danger, meaning both the human world and the world of the fae are at risk. I'm not sending one person to retrieve Feliks - even one faery couldn't do that. So, there will be a few of us going to maximize our chances of success."

Toris opened and closed his mouth, unable to form a coherent sentence. It made sense, but the thought still unnerved him. The fae already disliked humans, and what if these ones weren't like Elizabeta and immediately hated him? Plus, what if one of them was captured by a knight? It was much more dangerous for one of them to be caught than for Toris.

"I promise you, this will be the best course of action," the faery continued, clearly taking note of Toris' nervousness. "The faeries I have in mind were already told by Feliks about you, and since we've all known Feliks since we were young, we trust him. So, if you're worried about conflict, you don't have to. And, like I said, we can hold our own. There will be three others coming with us, and I assure you that they are well suited for this."

Toris nodded slowly, suddenly feeling very overwhelmed. He had barely been in the fae kingdom for an hour, yet he was already being thrown into training and a mission with a group of fae he didn't even know. However, the thought of rescuing Feliks surface, and he did his best to push away his thoughts. He had to be strong if he was going to make this work.

"So, um, who are these other faeries?" Toris asked, wincing at how weak his voice sounded.

Elizabeta's smile grew even wider. "Oh, they should be here any minute," she replied lightly.

Toris' eyes widened, not having expected them so soon. How did they even know he was here? It's not like he saw Elizabeta alert them of his presence.

"We can communicate telepathically with any faery we've established a mental connection with," she explained, noticing his confusion. "It's usually done between close friends and lovers so that you can contact someone at any time. We can't read others' minds, but we can at least send and receive mental messages."

Toris frowned, thinking back to earlier. Before he was sent away, he heard Feliks' voice loud and clear inside his head. He was almost positive that the faery had sent him that message, but it now confused him. He didn't think he had formed any mental connection with Feliks, and he wasn't even sure if it worked between a faery and a human. So how had Feliks gotten his message through to him?

The sound of the door opening startled Toris from his thoughts, and his head snapped up to reveal three male faeries entering the room. The first had snow white hair and red eyes, a sight that may have startled Toris in the human world; however, the playful expression on the faery's face made Toris feel as though he wasn't any sort of threat.

The second, trailing behind the red eyed one, had lighter brown hair and eyes that Toris couldn't tell if they were blue or a very light purple. Compared to the first faery, he seemed friendly but more shy, almost reminding Toris of himself.

And then the last one entered, and for a moment, Toris felt as though the temperature in the room had dropped several degrees. This one had chin length blonde hair, but when Toris looked at his eyes, they were the coldest green he had ever seen, sending shivers down his spine. He didn't exactly glare at Toris, but his eyes were clearly guarded, as if he had already predetermined Toris wasn't to be trusted. It took Toris by surprise, considering Elizabeta had said there wouldn't be any conflict between them. If these were all Feliks' friends and trusted him, why did this one look as though this was the last place he wanted to be?

"So, this is Feliks' new human friend, right?" the red eyed one said, a grin forming on his face as he walked over to the two.

Elizabeta rolled her eyes, although the slightest blush formed on her face. "Gil, this is Toris. Toris, this is Gilbert, the most idiotic of the fae."

Gilbert frowned, looking at Elizabeta with a hurt expression. She sighed, acting as if he was the biggest annoyance in the world.

"He's also going to be instructing you the offensive portion of combat training."

Gilbert then grinned, his mind clearly having moved on from her previous comment. "It's nice to finally meet ya, Toris," Gilbert said, sounding genuine through his playful tone. "Any friend of Feliks' is a friend of mine! You can just call me Gil - it's what everyone else calls me anyways!"

Toris nodded, finding himself unable to speak yet again. Luckily, he didn't have to as Elizabeta continued on with introductions.

"This is Matt," she said, making eye contact with the shy-looking one. In response, he stepped out from behind Gil and gave a small wave. "His ability allows him to turn himself and those in contact with him invisible, so that will be important for this mission."

"Nice to meet you," Matt said, his tone light and quiet.

Then, there was one faery left in the room, and Toris' stomach rolled despite himself. He glanced over at the blonde, seeing that he remained several steps behind Matt and Gil, not having taken any further steps into the room. His arms were crossed in front of his chest, making Toris think he wanted to stay closed off.

"That's Vash," Elizabeta finished, nodding her head toward the blonde. "He's going to be your defense instructor."

Toris' stomach lurched. _Great_ , he thought to himself, making eye contact with Vash. _Just my luck._

He noticed Matt shoot a concerned look toward Gil, eyes making contact before quickly looking away. However, the exchange confused Toris - did they think there would be some sort of issue with the two?

"You really want Feliks back?" Vash suddenly asked, his voice cool as ice.

Nerves rolled in Toris' stomach, but he found himself nodding nonetheless.

Vash stared at him for a moment as if assessing his word, before he finally spoke again. "Then don't expect me to go easy on you," he stated, his words sharp. "If you really want him back, you'll prove it with how hard you work."

Toris felt as if the tension in the room had rose considerably as everyone stood around in silence, as if unsure how to proceed. However, before it got too uncomfortable, Gil moved over to Vash and flung an arm around his shoulders, drawing the slightly shorter male into him.

"I promise, he's not always this grumpy," he said with a grin, ignoring Vash's struggles to break loose. "He's just mad because we interrupted his training."

Vash managed to shove Gil off, shooting a glare at him before turning his gaze away, crossing his arms again as he scowled at the wall.

Toris' eyes wandered back to Elizabeta, catching her staring at Vash with concern. Toris frowned - there was clearly something he was missing here, considering Gil, Matt, and Elizabeta were all seemingly worried about something involving Vash's behavior.

Elizabeta must have caught him looking, because she quickly turned to the others with a small smile. "Okay, so now that everyone has met, maybe we can call it a day and give Toris a little while to rest and adjust before jumping into training."

"No," Toris found himself saying, causing all eyes to turn on him. He was surprised it came out so quick and easily, but even so, he knew he meant it.

"We don't have time to waste," he continued, making sure to keep his voice firm. "So, if it's okay with you guys, I would like to start training now."

The four faeries made eye contact with each other, not saying a word. Toris wasn't sure if they were mentally communicating with each other, or they were just coming to a decision based on their expressions. Either way, it lasted only seconds before Gil turned back to him with a grin.

"Fine by me," he said, sounding just as eager as Toris. "Vash and I will just have to run down to the armory to grab a few things, then we'll be back."

Toris frowned. "We're doing it here?" he asked, glancing around the room. It was large, but there were also several pieces of furniture that could easily get in the way.

This time, Elizabeta spoke up. "Humans aren't allowed in our kingdom," she said with a shrug. "So, while you're here, you'll have to stay in my place. But don't worry, it's large enough. It should make do."

Toris' stomach dropped again. His day just kept getting better and better, from Feliks being kidnapped, to having to stay in the fae kingdom, to finding out he wasn't actually allowed there. Just excellent.

"Yeah, we can just move some of the furniture around in this space," Gil said, looking around. "This should be plenty of space." He then turned to Vash, whose scowl had lessened so his expression was back to its original, cold look.

"Let's go," Gil said, nodding toward the door. And it seemed Vash needed no further invitation, because as soon as the words left Gil's mouth, he uncrossed his arms and walked purposefully toward the door, exiting without a second glance back. Gil followed, although he gave an apologetic smile before leaving.

"We'll be back in fifteen minutes, tops," he assured, shutting the door and leaving Toris with Elizabeta and Matt.

Toris took a deep breath, feeling as though he had been holding his breath for quite some time. He hadn't realized just how nervous he really was before meeting the faeries, but now that it was over, he felt ten times better. It had gone rather smoothly, and he was surprised the others had accepted him so easily.

Besides Vash, of course.

"Sorry about Vash," Matt said, as if reading Toris' mind. He turned to face him, seeing that he really did look apologetic. "Just give him some time, and he'll come around."

Toris nodded. He didn't know if it was his place to ask, but he really did want to understand why he was acting this way. He debated for several moments whether or not he should ask, until his curiosity finally got the best of him.

"Why is he so, um...angry?" he asked, hesitance ringing soundly through his voice.

The other two were silent for several moments, and Toris was afraid he had overstepped his bounds. However, he was proved wrong as he saw Elizabeta shift in her seat, making eye contact with Toris.

"Has Feliks mentioned to you the concept of a faery's true name?" she asked, her tone serious.

Toris nodded. Of course he had - the topic had come up several times, but Toris wasn't sure what this had to do with Vash. Except-

The brunette's eyes suddenly widened as the realization hit him. How had he not realized it sooner?

"Feliks mentioned one of his friends' being betrayed by a human," Toris started, making sure to state his words as carefully as possible. "Is Vash that faery?"

Matt and Elizabeta's expressions didn't change, seemingly unsurprised that Toris knew about this. And now, with this confirmation, Vash's behavior suddenly made sense to him; why, even though he didn't even know Toris, he acted as though he already disliked him. And suddenly, Toris couldn't blame him for acting that way - he remembered Feliks saying how much pain even he felt from Vash, even though Feliks wasn't even the one who was hurt. So was it really Vash's fault for distrusting Toris already?

"This is just his first time speaking with a human since then," Matt said in a soft voice, drawing Toris back to the present. "But when he understands your intentions, he won't be so cold."

Toris nodded, feeling guilty for the second time that day. First, he had gotten Feliks caught because of his own recklessness. And now, he was forcing a faery to help him even though it was probably killing him to do so.

"How long ago did it happen?" Toris found himself asking, realizing he didn't even know the details about what happened - he didn't think it was his place to ask Feliks, but now that he knew who it had happened to, he felt the desire to know and understand more.

"Elizabeta hesitated before responding. "They met a little over two years ago, and a little more than a year after was when it happened. So, it's been almost a year since then."

Toris nodded, wanting to ask more, but suddenly, the door burst open again, revealing Gil and Vash, carrying several different weapons. They placed them carefully on the table, and Toris noted the two faeries had picked up a variety of swords and daggers. A surge of nerves flowed through him yet again, realizing he would actually be using this to train.

Gil suddenly stepped forward, a smirk on his face. "Alright, I'm up first," he said, excitement ringing through his tone. "So, choose a weapon, and let's begin."

 _ **Note : I'll be traveling next week, so this won't be updated for a little over a week :)**_


	7. Chapter 7

"The first part of being on the offensive is appearing confident," Gil said, raising a brow at Toris. "And right now, I don't think there's anything in either of our worlds that would be threatened by you."

Toris swallowed, fully aware of what Gil had said. But it was so hard to appear confident when he was brandishing a weapon for the first time in his life. He had wanted to choose one of the small daggers, but Elizabeta insisted he train with one of the lengthier ones, saying it would limit close combat, if it came to that. But the sword he held felt incredibly awkward in his hand, like it wasn't meant to be there. Once again, he questioned himself, wondering if he would be better off leaving it to the faeries to rescue Feliks.

However, he kept going back to the thought that he needed to be there when they found him. He wanted the faery to know he wasn't going to act like other humans and just allow him to be subjected to the king. No, Feliks already believed Toris was different, and he wasn't going to tarnish that image.

Taking a small breath, Toris straightened up, regarding Gilbert with a cool stare. He didn't know exactly what confidence looked like in combat, but he figured so long as he didn't look nervous, it should be fine.

"Better," Gil said, nodding with approval. "The next part is stance, and how to hold your sword." The faery paused to unsheath his own sword, bringing it out in front of him in one hand.

"If there's any advantage you'll have in offense, it's your size," Gil continued, observing Toris. "You're a bit tall but very slight, so you should have decent agility. The key is staying on your toes, crouched just enough so you can move at a moment's notice."

Toris nodded, trying it for himself. He tried holding his sword out like Gilbert did, and he bent his knees slightly as he moved his weight onto his toes. The position felt odd, but he did feel more prepared, like he could move quickly if he was already like this.

Gilbert frowned at him. "What did I say about confidence?" he asked, sword now hanging down by his side. "Hold your weapon like you mean it, not like it's something poisonous you don't want to be touching."

Toris winced, trying to obey orders. However, it was hard to figure out what was considered 'confident weapon holding'. He brought the sword out in front of him, gripping it tightly, figuring so long as he wasn't shaking, it would be okay.

"Before engaging in any fight, you want to keep your blade in front of you and across your body," Gil stated, observing how Toris had the tip of the blade pointed directly at him. "Until you can determine an enemy's capabilities, your best move is to remain as closed off as possible."

Toris nodded, adjusting the blade so it protected his body. He was now almost positive he was in the correct positioning, only because of how unnatural it felt to him.

"How am I supposed to know what someone is capable of?" Toris questioned, keeping his position.

Gilbert shrugged. "I wouldn't worry entirely about that, considering you'll only be potentially fighting this one time. But, when one becomes more experienced, like the knights that work for your king, he can tell from an opponent's stature what his technique is. Of course, it's harder to do when you're in the midst of a battle already, but the best fighters are able to take note of certain giveaways regardless of the situation.

"But that's enough talk for now," the faery stated as he resheathed his sword, walking over to place it on the table before coming back. "Now, I want you to attack me."

Toris' eyes widened, certain that Gilbert had to be joking. Toris had never held a sword until that day, and Gilbert wanted him to attack while he was completely defenseless? He glanced over at the other three faeries, but they didn't seem surprised at all by the comment - if anything, they appeared very calm about the entire thing. But why? Weren't any of them concerned for Gilbert?

Elizabeta caught his frightened expression and let out a light laughter. "Toris, I assure you, you don't need to worry," she said, still smiling. "Gil won't let himself get hurt, so just give it everything you've got."

Despite how confident she sounded, it didn't do anything to take away the nerves bubbling in his stomach. However, Toris knew he wasn't exactly being offered a choice in the matter, so he nodded, turning back to Gilbert who now wore a cocky grin on his face.

Completely in the dark on what to do, Toris did the only thing he could think of. He dropped his sword by his side and charged forward, trying to keep himself appearing confident despite how clueless he was. When he was within reach of the faery, he began to move his arm upward in an attempt to hit Gil's chest.

However, before he knew what happened, one of Gil's hands gripped Toris' sword hand while the fingers of his other hand jabbed into the brunette's stomach. Toris looked down, breath hitched in his throat from how surprised he was by the quickness of Gilbert's movements.

"First problem," the red eyed faery started, releasing his grip on Toris as he stepped back. "You immediately dropped your sword as you charged at me, leaving you completely defenseless. If you were up against an experienced swordsman, or if you were in battle with several enemies, you would have been taken down by the time you could lift your sword up."

Toris felt himself flushing with embarrassment, but it seemed Gilbert wasn't done. "But I won't go into your defense too much because that's not my job. Regarding attack, if you keep your sword down like that, you have minimal chance of actually landing a blow on someone. You need to take someone on with intention, aiming your weapon with purpose at your opponent, not at the ground."

Toris nodded, trying not to feel dejected. It was his first time, and he knew it was better to hear it now than to hear it when he was bleeding out on the ground due after a fight. After all, the more advice and knowledge he gained here, the better off both he and the faeries would be back in the human world.

"Alright, let's go again," Gilbert said, getting back into a defensive position.

It went on like that for quite some time, Toris occasionally getting into Gil's personal space. But more often than not, he was stopped before he could even make a move. It was frustrating, because he was so eager to become good in as little time as possible. Now, he was beginning to realize there was no way he could pick up the skill so easily, and he once again began to question if he really was in over his head.

"Toris, it's obvious you're becoming frustrated," Gil said, as if reading his mind. He stood back, for once his expression lacking its playful look and adopting a more reassuring look. "But you can't let yourself be frustrated. The point here isn't to make you the best swordsman in any world, but it's to give you enough experience so you can defend yourself. None of us are expecting you to go out and kill anyone - we just want to make sure you can adequately keep yourself safe, alright? So, don't get so down on yourself.

Besides," he added, throwing an arm around Toris, "we have another week to practice, alright? Plenty of time."

Toris' eyes widened, and he removed himself from under the faery's arm, stepping back so he could see all four of them. "A week?" he repeated, looking around at each of them.

He made eye contact with Elizabeta, her gaze hard at first. However, after picking up on his apparent distress, it softened ever so slightly.

"If we see you improve enough before then, maybe we can discuss setting out earlier," Elizabeta said, her voice reluctant. "However, considering you have zero experience, we all agreed setting out in a week would give us the most sufficient amount of time to train you and create the best plan."

Every fiber of Toris' being was screaming at him, telling him that was way too late. A week was so long, and who knows what the king could have done to Feliks in that time? But, at the same time, he also knew Elizabeta had a point. None of them wanted to be charging in without some sort of plan, and they especially didn't want to do so with a human who had the combat skills of a five year old.

Once again, he felt like he was holding the faeries back. If he didn't insist on going, they could have set out much sooner than a week.

But, a small part of Toris told him that if the faeries thought the situation was dire, they would have left without him regardless of his own feelings. It gave him the slightest bit of reassurance, that Feliks would be okay if they had to wait a little while longer.

Toris felt all the faeries eyes on him, and he realized with embarrassment they were waiting for him to respond.

"I understand," he said in a soft but firm voice. It was their best option, and if Toris wanted to go with the faeries, he would just have to wait out the days, getting stronger after each passing one.

Gilbert grinned. "Good," he said, throwing his arm around the brunette once again. "Do you need to rest or anything?"

Toris shook his head, although truth be told, he could have taken a while to sit down and relax. His body wasn't used to this kind of movement, and he was beginning to feel the soreness in his muscles. However, he also knew he had limited time, and he needed to learn as much as he could now. Resting could wait until later.

"In that case," Gil continued with a grin, releasing his arm from around the brunette, "let's get you started on part two of your combat training. Vash?"

Toris looked up and watched as Vash slowly got off the table he had been sitting on, approaching the two with a hard gaze. Toris' immediately felt his blood run cold, but he tried to shake off the feeling, remembering what both Feliks and Elizabeta told him. Despite what the faery's expression said, Vash didn't actually hate him, and he just needed time to come around.

The blonde stopped several paces in front of Toris, hands crossed in front of his chest. He was silent for several moments, his cold gaze staring into Toris' eyes as if he was trying to intimidate him. Toris fought the urge to swallow, Gilbert's words ringing through his mind.

 _I have to appear confident, even if that's not what I'm feeling._

Finally, it seemed as though Vash had enough and was ready to begin. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small dagger. Toris' eyes widened at the sight, but Vash quickly threw it to the side, sending it clattering across the floor, his eyes never leaving Toris'. Toris turned to watch the dagger land halfway across the room before returning his gaze to Vash's, watching as the faery threw his jacket off to the side as well. The brunette waited for anything else, but it seemed by Vash's serious expression that he was ready to begin.

Before Toris even knew what was happening, he felt something lash out at his ankles, and Toris landed on his back, the breath knocked out of him. He lay there for a moment, completely stunned as he tried to regain his breath. What just happened? How had Vash even moved that quickly?

"Lesson one," the faery said from somewhere above Toris. "Your opponent will not wait until you're ready. As a matter of fact, he will go in for the attack the moment you let your defense down."

Toris inwardly groaned, quickly coming to the conclusion that this was how Vash was going to teach - he was going to force Toris to learn by example. It didn't really surprise him though, considering the faery's demeanour. However, despite the small bit of dread forming in his stomach, Toris also knew this might very well be the best way to learn, because he would really have to force himself to adapt as quickly as possible, just so he didn't end up injured.

After a moment more, Toris forced himself up, meeting Vash's cold stare with a determined look of his own. This training might be hell, but he knew it was worth it. If he was going to run the risk of fighting knights, he had to be able to defend himself, not only for his sake, but for the faeries as well.

Vash narrowed his eyes. "Are you ready now? Because I'm not asking again."

Toris nodded, holding his weapon across his chest and crouching down into fighting stance as Gilbert had taught him. He was ready this time - he knew Vash would be coming at him. He also knew Vash was incredibly fast, but Toris thought that maybe, if Vash came at him enough times, he could predict what he was going to do, and where he was going to attack.

However, just as the thought crossed his mind, Vash was on top of him again, this time landing a light kick into Toris' side, sending him stumbling back. Toris spun around, but Vash was no longer there. He then felt another blow on his back, and before he knew it, he was stomach down on the ground, wincing from his fall.

"Lesson two," Vash said, his voice completely serious, with no hint of taunting in it. "Your enemy might be in front of you, but that doesn't mean he's going to go for your front. You need to be ready to be attacked from any angle. Utilize the stance Gil taught you to move more quickly.

"Also," he continued, "if your opponent is stronger, you will not be attacking him directly unless there is an opening. So, if you are on the defensive, you won't be so much pointing your blade at the foe than using as much of the blade as possible to block attacks from hitting your body."

Toris nodded, surprised at how much advice he was getting from Vash considering his disdain for Toris. He still got the sense that the faery would rather be anywhere else than there, but it was also very obvious that Vash was taking his role as an instructor very seriously.

Vash continued in the same manner, attacking Toris and giving pointers after. It was clear he was holding back on his attacks, but it didn't mean Toris wasn't taking a beating. More often than not, he was ending up on the ground, having to pick himself up again before awaiting another attack. Toris could feel several bruises forming on various locations over his body. He knew he would be feeling it in the morning, but he tried not to concern himself with it now as he put all his focus on the task at hand.

So, he continued, trying his hardest to keep in mind all the pointers Vash was teaching him while fending off the faery. Although, he felt himself tiring quickly, and considering he was training with Gilbert before, he wasn't surprised.

A sudden sweep at his feet caused Toris tumbling to the ground, wincing as he just barely managed to avoid slamming his head against the ground. His head was swimming, and it took him a second to readjust his vision. It was then that he really felt the extent to which he had been working - as if a switch had turned on in his body, he could suddenly feel the soreness and aching in his muscles at full force, coupled with the throbbing from all of Vash's attacks. He fought the urge to groan, surprised he was feeling this much after only his first training session.

"Vash," he heard, coming from Elizabeta. "Maybe we should call it a day for now."

Her tone sounded concerned, causing a wave of guilt to go through Toris. This was the team going in to get Feliks, and he couldn't have them feeling concerned for him. No, despite how sore he already was, he couldn't stop just yet.

"Elizabeta, I'm fine," Toris said, beginning to get back up. His vision blurred momentarily, forcing him to pause, but after a few seconds he stood up, gripping his sword in front of him in preparation for another attack. He locked eyes with Vash who stood away from him, arms folded over his chest as if assessing Toris.

 _Good,_ Toris thought, waiting in anticipation for the blonde to attack. _See how serious I am, see that I'm not here to hurt anyone._

"No, she's right," Vash said, much to Toris' surprise. "We're done for today."

Toris stared at Vash with wide eyes before finally finding his voice. "No, I'm fine," the brunette insisted as firmly as he could, knowing he didn't have time to take his training at a leisurely pace. "I can keep going."

Vash raised a brow, watching Toris for several moments without speaking. Toris fought the urge to look away, feeling uncomfortable by the silence.

"You can't keep going if you get hurt," Vash finally stated matter-of-factly. "Which is what will happen if you keep going without rest. If you really want to help get Feliks back, don't neglect yourself by acting recklessly. You won't be of any help if you do that."

Toris stared at Vash, unsure how how to respond to his words. He spoke them harshly, not bothering to put anything lightly. But, his words showed Toris that the faery recognized his ambition and wasn't going to let him run himself into the ground. It was clear Vash still didn't trust him - not that Toris expected him to. But, he felt as though this was some progress, the fact that the faery understood instructing Toris was in their best interest.

Before Toris could respond, Vash turned to Elizabeta. "When are we meeting later?" he asked, keeping a neutral tone.

She kept her eyes on the blonde for several moments without responding, and Toris got the inkling she was trying to read something in his eyes. Once again, Toris wondered if they were having some sort of silent conversation, but considering the lack of a change in either of their expressions, he decided it wasn't likely.

"Why don't we all rest a bit and meet in three hours?" she suggested, finally breaking her gaze away from Vash's to look to everyone else for approval. "No training, but we can just talk to discuss some ideas, see what we're dealing with."

"Sounds good to me!" Gil chimed in from his place on the table next to Elizabeta.

Matt nodded too. "That works."

Vash gave a curt nod, moving to retrieve his jacket and dagger. "I'll be back, then," he said simply, and without a second glance back, walked out the door.

Toris looked up to see Matt and Gilbert staring at each other, Gil giving a small nod as if affirming something.

"I should head out too," Gil said a few moments later, hopping off from the table. "Someone's gotta return these weapons, right? But don't miss me too much, Toris - I'll probably be back earlier than three hours from now."

Toris nodded, unable to help himself from smiling at the faery despite knowing he was definitely lying about why he was leaving. He was certain he and Matt had a mental conversation, and from the tone of Gil's voice, it wasn't about returning weapons. If he had to guess, it had to do with a certain faery who had left moments prior.

Gilbert grabbed the assortment of weapons before heading out the door, leaving Toris with Elizabeta and Matt. And, now that Toris' mind wasn't focused on anything in particular, his assortment of aches and pains shot through his body yet again, causing him to wince. If this was what it was going to be like every day, this was going to be a long week.

Elizabeta frowned, catching on quickly. "Why don't we go in the other room and sit somewhere comfortable," she suggested, hopping off the table. "You look like you're about to drop dead."

Toris nodded, too exhausted to argue. Yes, sitting down sounded really nice right about now.


	8. Chapter 8

Feliks slowly came to his senses, blinking his eyes open groggily. The first thing he noticed was how weak he felt, feeling that if he tried to move his limbs, he wouldn't be able to do so. An uncomfortable feeling ran through his body as well, making him feel almost nauseous. With a dreadful feeling, he looked down at his arms, his fears being confirmed. Although he wasn't really surprised - it made sense, especially if the king didn't want Feliks using his abilities. By using iron chains, Feliks wouldn't be able to draw in any power to use his abilities, and even if he tried, he knew it would leave him feeling very unwell.

He looked around his surroundings, taking note that he was most likely in some sort of prison cell. It wasn't an extremely small room, making Feliks believe there was intention behind that, and it was composed of cold stone that he just happened to be laying on. Nothing else was in the cell besides himself and the chains that kept him from moving far enough away from the wall.

Suddenly, the door to his cell opened, revealing a group of five men armed with weapons by their sides. They weren't even in the room yet, but Feliks could tell from the overpowering sense of nausea that their weapons were made of iron.

 _Of course,_ he thought, unsure if he should be amused at how pathetic these men were, or if he should be more afraid, considering he was at their mercy.

The knights moved into the room, flocking to the sides and revealing two more figures. The first, Feliks assumed to be the king. He moved into the room with purpose, looking down on Feliks with absolute triumph. His eyes sent shivers down the faery's spine, their gaze revealing to Feliks the ruthlessness of this person.

He walked forward until he stood directly in front of Feliks, the other figure still behind him.

"Lovino, this is the faery, correct?" King Antonio spoke, keeping his gaze on Feliks.

The figure came out from behind the king, and Feliks' eyes widened in surprise. _A faery?_ The king already had one? But how? This faery wasn't bound in a cell - he wasn't restrained in any way either. Feliks noted what appeared to be iron cuffs around his wrists, but the faery was still free to move. So what was this?

The faery, Lovino as Feliks presumed, glanced toward the blonde, an indistinguishable flash of emotion lighting up his eyes before they went blank. Lovino looked away, his brows narrowing ever so slightly.

"I think you already know the answer, bastard," he muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.

Shocked at the way he spoke to the king, Feliks waited for Antonio to do something. However, the king simply laughed, almost as if he were used to such comments. It only made Feliks even more confused - the way the two interacted made it seem as though Lovino had been at the castle for quite some time. The iron cuffs were obviously in use to repress his magic, but if he was free to move around, as Feliks assumed, why was he still here? Could he not have run away?

"From your tone, I guess this is the one I've been looking for," King Antonio said in a cheery voice.

He bent down in front of Feliks, and the faery had to fight the urge to either back away or spit on the human. However, the king didn't appear to notice his discomfort - either that, or he simply chose to ignore it.

"So, you're the key I've been looking for all these years," the king said, his voice tinged with darkness despite its delightful tone. "You're the one that is going to help me take all the kingdoms of this continent."

Feliks glared at the man, but King Antonio simply laughed again. "Wow, you're just like Lovino! Trying to act all tough. Is that a common faery thing?"

The blonde had half a mind to tell the man to fuck off, but the king simply just went on talking. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter. I have a question for you, faery, and I'm going to keep asking you until I get an answer, understood?"

Feliks remained silent, choosing once again to just glare at the king. Finally, when he got the hint that Feliks wasn't responding, Antonio went on.

"What is your name, faery? And I don't care about your fake one - I want your _real_ name."

Of course, that was the only question Feliks had been expecting. It was the only information the king needed from him, really. And it just so happened to be the one thing Feliks wasn't going to give him.

So, he remained silent, which once again caused the king to laugh. But this time, it was a dark laugh, no trace of amusement or cheer in it. The man stood up, looking down on Feliks once again.

"That's okay, you don't have to tell me now," he said, his tone sending shivers down the faery's spine. "But I assure you, within a few days, you'll be more than willing to tell me."

With that, the king turned back to his men. "Two of you may remain outside to guard the door, but the rest may leave. I would like some time alone with this faery. And one of you," he added, turning toward the other faery in the room, "please escort Lovino directly back to his room."

Lovino glanced at Feliks, and he could see what looked like guilt in his eyes. However, one of the knights made his way over to the faery and put a hand on his shoulder, gently leading him out. The other men followed suit, leaving Feliks alone with the king.

Antonio grinned at the faery, causing a small pool of dread to form in Feliks' stomach despite how much he told himself to remain unafraid.

"Let's begin then, shall we?"


	9. Chapter 9

Gilbert swore silently to himself as he stood outside Elizabeta's place, wishing he had kept in mind how quick Vash was. Despite Gilbert leaving only moments after the blonde, he was nowhere in sight. And considering Elizabeta's home was situated in a sparse area, sighting Vash would have been easy if he hadn't hurried away.

The faery sighed. It was moments like this, when Vash acted like a human teenager, that he remembered Vash was only eighteen. Not that Gilbert's being two years older made much of a difference in the faery world, but at least if something was bothering him, he would deal with it properly rather than run away from it. But Vash always had to go on trying to deal with everything on his own, not wanting to accept anyone's help. Gilbert had to admit, Vash was much more mature than him, but when it came to stubbornness, Gil definitely overruled him on the maturity scale.

Trying to determine which way he went, Gilbert turned his head in both directions. Really, it only came down to figuring out if he headed east or west - if Gilbert could choose the right direction, he knew he would run into the blonde. He figured Vash wasn't running, so he couldn't have gotten far enough away so he could lose Gilbert completely.

With a frown, his mind started scanning through where Vash most likely would be. It was clear from his actions that Vash wanted to be left alone, so Gil quickly eliminated the armory from likely places he would be. Considering that's where Vash typically went when he needed to clear his mind, Gilbert figured it would be too obvious.

In the opposite direction was Vash's home, but he knew the faery wouldn't be there either - after the whole incident with the human, Vash rarely was present in his home, only remaining there for basic necessities like sleeping. The blonde insisted the amount of time he spent there hadn't changed since prior to the incident, but Gil, as well as everyone else, knew otherwise.

His mind flashed back to that particular day, the day the group found Vash in the middle of the woods and discovered what happened. He remembered everything so clearly that day, remembered that after quite some time, they managed to get him back home and in bed, despite how long it took to remove Vash from the edge of the water, remembered sitting in Vash's kitchen early the following morning with Elizabeta after sending the other two home, the silence suddenly being broken by the sound of a door slamming.

Remembered finding Vash at that lake where they found him first, knees drawn up as he sat shuddering for breath.

I can't go back in there, the blonde had said, staring off straight in front of him, trembling slightly.

Why? Gil had asked, as softly as he could, his chest aching at the sight.

He didn't answer after that. But it was after that when Vash really closed himself off from the others, never speaking about that day, never showing how it was really destroying him. The only indication anyone had of how he was feeling was Feliks, and it killed Gilbert knowing how Vash was feeling, and that he refused to let anyone help him.

He brought himself back to the present, knowing he was only wasting time thinking about that. But, the memory did bring something to mind.

Vash wouldn't be at his home, but there was a good chance he was at that lake. So, without waiting any longer, Gilbert headed off in that direction, pacing himself at a slight jog in hopes he was right.

It was only several moments later when he saw a flash of blonde up ahead of him on the trail. Filled with relief, he slowed his pace.

"Vash!" he called out, walking now.

Vash paused, turning his head ever so slightly as if to confirm who it was. Gil watched his eyes narrow, and before the faery knew what was happening, Vash was walking away again, striding away with purpose.

"What do you want, Gil?" he asked, not bothering to slow down or turn his head as Gilbert ran to catch up.

He hesitated for the slightest moment upon hearing his tone, recognizing it as the tone Vash used when he wished to be undisturbed. However, whenever Gilbert heard him speak this way, he also knew it was best to do the exact opposite of what Vash wanted.

"You were pretty strict with Toris today," Gil commented, finally next to the blonde.

Vash stared straight ahead, and despite Gilbert being taller than the blonde, he was having trouble keeping up with his brisk pace. "I'm not going easy on him just because he's a human," he responded, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "If he wants to get any better, he needs to push himself."

Gil looked at Vash as he spoke, trying to gauge how the faery was feeling. His face was locked in a neutral expression, one that indicated to Gil he had closed himself off. He knew Vash was feeling something, but what was it? Anger? Sadness? Or something else entirely?

"You know," the red eyed faery started, his tone causing Vash to glance at him for a brief instant, "I know you were sort of forced into doing this, so-"

"No one forced me to do anything," the blonde cut in, an edge of sharpness to his words. "I made my own decision. Saving Feliks and this kingdom is more important than worrying about working with some human."

Gilbert could tell Vash was becoming quickly agitated. If it was anyone else, Gil would have stopped upon realizing it; however, he knew with the blonde, it was the only way to get him to reveal what was going on in his head.

"He has a name, you know," Gil said, referring to the fact that not once had he heard Vash actually say Toris' name.

Vash's gaze hardened, but he continued staring straight ahead in silence.

"Look, Vash," Gilbert started again, allowing his concern to pool into his voice, "I just want to make sure you're okay with doing all this. We're going to be going into the human world, and considering you haven't been there in almost a year, I want to make sure you can handle this."

Vash's eyes widened for a brief instant, and Gilbert was almost certain his words had gotten through to the faery. However, that hope quickly faded as Vash's expression became stone cold again.

"I assure you," he said icily, his tone cold to the touch, "I can handle myself just fine."

Gil winced, realizing all too soon his choice of words was the wrong thing to say. Now, it seemed as though he was losing any chance of getting the blonde to vocalize his thoughts.

In a last ditch attempt, he grabbed Vash's wrist, forcing him to stop. Vash spun around on Gilbert, fury in his eyes. However, Gil wasn't willing to stop just yet.

"Listen," Gilbert said, taking on a serious tone as he looked Vash in the eye, "I know there's something going on in your head, and I'm not asking you to tell me every single detail. Even if it's just one word, I want to know what you're feeling, because it's obvious this isn't easy for you. And I'm not trying to be pushy, but I want to make sure you don't do anything reckless because you're trying to deal with something alone, alright?"

Vash stared at him, the anger still evident in his eyes as silence surrounded the two. Gilbert kept quiet, waiting for something to come out of the blonde's mouth, but he was slowly losing any hope he previously had as the seconds dragged on. However, after what seemed like several minutes, the anger faded from Vash's gaze, his expression returning to more of a neutral one.

Vash looked away for a moment as if gathering his thoughts, then returned his gaze once again to Gilbert. "I don't trust him," he finally said in a matter-of-fact tone. "I understand that you all trust him because Feliks does, but I can't trust him so easily. And I'm sorry, but that's just how it is."

Gilbert looked to Vash who was staring back at him with a defiant gaze. He almost wanted to sigh, partially due to relief that the blonde actually said something that was on his mind, and partially due to frustration that, despite there being so much more going on in Vash's head, he still refused to show any emotion other than anger.

However, if Gil learned anything from dealing with Vash over the last year, it was that he had to be patient. He knew how much the faery had been dealing with, and now that he was seeing and interacting with a human for the first time since the incident, Gilbert knew things weren't going to get any easier.

"I don't think anyone is expecting you to trust him," Gilbert finally said with a shrug, trying to keep things light. "I think the only thing we need right now is to work together. Sure, trusting Toris might help, but I think we all know that's going to be difficult for you. And we're okay with that."

Vash hesitated before nodding, turning his head back down. And from his silence, it seemed as though the conversation was over. Not that Gilbert was finished talking - he could go on for ages, but he didn't want to push Vash any more than necessary. He at least got him to vocalize slightly, easing his concerns somewhat. Getting out some of his frustrations meant there was very little chance that Vash would do something careless.

"Well, I'll leave you be then," Gilbert said, coming to the conclusion Vash wasn't going to respond. "But if you need me, you know where to find me."

Vash nodded again, still silent. Gil frowned, but figured it was just his indication to leave. He turned around, beginning to walk back toward the armory. He had almost completely forgotten about the assortment of weapons nestled under his arm, and their weight was starting to become uncomfortable.

"Gilbert," Vash suddenly said, something like caution in his tone.

Gil paused, turning around to see the blonde looking at him with hesitation. Gilbert had seen this expression before, one indicating he wanted to say something personal. But, because of Vash's closed off personality, saying things like that were extremely difficult for him to vocalize.

However, he waited patiently for a few moments, watching as Vash opened his mouth before shutting it again and looking toward the ground. Then,

"He lives in that village," Vash finally said, his voice uncharacteristically lacking its usual bite. "He's often at the palace, performing for the king." He paused, eyes cast downward as if searching the ground for the words he wanted to say. Gilbert waited patiently, not wanting to break whatever courage Vash had found to speak.

Finally, the blonde looked up, his eyes indicating a mixture of fear and uncertainty. "What if he sees us?"

Gilbert stared at Vash, watching the other and how nervous he looked at the moment. It was then that it all hit Gil, and he suddenly felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner. This whole time, he thought the main thing bothering Vash was the fact he had to interact with another human for the first time in almost a year. And of course, that was bothering him, but it wasn't the main thing.

It was the fact there was a possibility of seeing the person who betrayed him for the first time since it happened. Gilbert thought Vash would have an issue going back into the human world merely because they would see humans, but he failed to even think about the possibility of seeing that one human. He wanted to smack himself for being such an idiot.

"Vash," he started, taking a step back toward the blonde, "you really don't have to come-"

"Yes, I do," Vash quickly interjected, his tone indicating there was no room to give. His eyes hardened ever so slightly, but Gilbert could still see a hint of fear that he was trying to hide.

He nodded, taking a step toward Vash. "Matt can make us invisible," he said, keeping his tone calm. "Even if we run into him, he doesn't have to see us."

Vash scoffed, although it lacked any edge. "I don't think we can all hold hands and remain invisible for the entirety of this mission," he commented, his sarcastic tone surprisingly soft.

Gilbert opened his mouth to argue but quickly closed it. Of course, Vash was right - there were definitely going to be points in the castle when some of them would be visible.

"We'll work something out," he replied, trying to sound assuring.

However, after a beat of silence, Vash quickly shook his head. "No, I don't want to shift our plans just for my sake," the faery said, crossing his arms and looking away again. "That's just foolish. If we see...Roderich...we'll deal with in the moment."

Gilbert stared at the blonde in surprise, but before he could form any sort of response, Vash turned around. "I'm leaving now," he said, already walking away before Gilbert had a chance to say anything. "I'll be back later."

Gil stood still, watching as Vash's figure retreated farther and farther away before turning around himself. He began walking in the direction he came from, intending to return the weapons to the armory before going back to Elizabeta's. His mind, however, was still wrapped around Vash's last statement, regarding their plans.

And Gilbert didn't know if it was a good or bad thing, but it was the first time Vash had said Roderich's name since the day he tried turning the faery over to the king.

~~()~~

Vash brushed past the final foliage of brush, emerging by the bank of the lake he had grown accustom to retreating to. It was a private place, one very few bothered to ever come to. It was the perfect place to be alone with his thoughts.

Vash's eyes widened the slightest with relief upon seeing the familiar landscape, and it was all he could do not to run to the side of the bank. Despite his shortening breaths caused by the restricting feeling he had in his throat, he forced himself to stay at a brisk walk as he moved toward the edge of the water. When he finally made it, he quickly sat down, taking in deep breaths in an attempt to bring more oxygen to his brain.

In, out, he told himself, knowing that focus would be the only thing to quell the familiar panic building up inside.

Normally, if this happened, repeating the mantra a few times with complete focus caused his panic to cease rather quickly. But today, it wasn't working. Every time he tried to clear his mind, thoughts continued to flow into his head, thoughts of the new human brought into their world, thoughts of their impending mission, thoughts of him, and his throat would constrict even more, creating black spots in his field of vision.

The despairing thoughts were overwhelming him, something that he hadn't allowed to happen in quite some time, and now that it was happening again, he didn't know what to do. His chest was beginning to hurt immensely so, his breathing turning into desperate gasps. Images, both from the past and present, kept appearing in his mind, rendering him unable to clear his thoughts.

It was when he really began to black out when Vash managed to get a single thought of his own through his head, telling himself he needed to calm down.

Breathe! he commanded to his mind, trying to force himself to regulate his breathing. In and out, in and out!

He didn't know how long it took, but the landscape finally began to reappear in his vision, and he wasn't gasping so heavily. He had to remain for a few more moments with his knees tucked into his chest, but soon, the aching in his chest from lack of oxygen faded along with the last bits of his labored breathing.

Still shaking slightly, Vash stared out at the water. Painful thoughts still ran through his mind, but he was now able to control himself now that he knew they were on the forefront of his mind. He allowed them to run through his mind at the moment, knowing if he did so now, it would be easier to block it off when he was ready.

Random images from that time with his human were displayed in his mind. He watched as his mind recalled the first time they met, when Vash found the human lost outside his village, and how stubborn the person had been when Vash finally decided to help. How, after that, an odd sort of friendship formed between them, resulting in the blonde going to the human world quite often.

How one night, several months after meeting the human, Vash finally allowed himself to open up enough to the human to admit his feelings, that he had fallen for the human.

How Vash never could picture him in love, but several months after admitting their feelings, Vash didn't think he could ever love anyone else other than this human.

And how that one morning, Vash woke up to an empty bed, only to go downstairs and see three knights in the kitchen, the human standing by their side.

Vash looked to the knights, fear in his eyes before turning to the human, with more hurt than anything evident in his eyes. The human didn't even need to say anything - it was clear from his hard expression that he had called these knights here and was very certain about his decision.

The knights began moving toward Vash, iron cuffs at the ready, but he wasn't about to go without putting up a fight. But first, he quickly lunged at the human, knocking him out effortlessly with a carefully placed punch to the head. He had to do it - he couldn't have the human using his name to command him to give up. He thought it would have given him some relief, make him feel slightly better, but the numbness remained inside him.

Vash heard a shout behind him, and he turned around, remembering the knights. Using his ability, he quickly restrained them as well, leaving no one else to oppose him. However, he paused, only to look back at Roderich. He wanted to hate the man so much at that moment, but the only thing he could feel right then was emptiness and utter betrayal, unsure how the man he had grown to love over the past year could do something like this without feeling a speck of remorse. Vash was so certain Roderich had felt the same way about him, but had he been that delusional this entire time? Was he really such a fool to trust someone outside his kingdom?

He felt frozen to the spot, feeling as though if he tried to move, he would collapse instantly. His head was spinning, the realization that he wasn't breathing suddenly coming to him. He forced his lungs to work, although the best he could manage to do was take in a choked gasp. Was this really happening?

A knight behind him made a noise, drawing Vash back to the present danger. He knew reinforcements would come in due time, so he couldn't remain any longer. He had to get himself to move. With much effort, he forced his legs to work as he began running back toward his kingdom.

It wasn't until he made it through to his kingdom when his legs gave out, and he collapsed in the woods, gasping for air that wouldn't reach his lungs. He felt something wet on his cheeks, and it was then that the reality of what happened really hit him.

He'd given everything he had to a man who didn't love him. And now he was left with nothing.

Vash stopped his mind there, not willing to go any further into his memories. His face felt wet, an indication to him that several stray tears had fallen down his face. He was okay with it though - after all, he came here with the purpose of getting his thoughts out before they overcame him. It was better to have it happen here than in front of the others.

Vash took another moment to steel himself, staring blankly ahead at the water before closing his eyes and taking one last deep breath. When he reopened his eyes, his gaze was back to its normal, stoic look, indicating indifference or slight annoyance to anyone in his presence. His emotions were under control, the despair being locked up deep inside him, kept under guard by the sheer coldness he allowed to permeate the hollowness he felt inside him. He figured his mask wouldn't last long due to the presence of the human, but it would be enough for now.

He stood up, taking one last moment to stare out ahead at the water before turning around and exiting his safe haven. Vash had come to calm himself enough to retain his composure, and he had done just that. Now, it was time to return back to reality. And training at the armory with sharp and dangerous weapons seemed like the best way to do that.

 **Note:I updated this chapter thanks to someone who caught that the text looked odd. Sorry about that, I don't really know what happened! But thanks for the catch :)**

 **Also, this is a random place to mention this, but if anyone feels Antonio (Spain) is out of character (again sorry for mentioning this here), I was using influence of conquistador Spain/inquisition Spain - I've read some pretty good fanfics with his character portrayed in a different way during these periods, and I loved it!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Note: Chapter nine has been fixed because the text turned out weird. Sorry about that :)**

Elizabeta brought in a tray with three mugs, placing it on the table in the center of where Toris and Matt sat. Toris eyed the mug set in front of him warily, recalling being told a long time ago to never accept food offered by a faery - if a human consumed something from the other kingdom, they would be forced to remain there forever.

Elizabeta must have sensed his unease because she let out an amiable laugh. "Don't worry," she assured, although her voice was clearly amused. "Your human legends aren't true - you can consume all you want here and still be able to return to your world."

Toris nodded, feeling his face flush from embarrassment Gingerly, he took a sip of the drink, noting it to have a taste similar to tea. Deciding he liked the taste, he took another sip, opting to keep the mug in his hands for the comfort of the heat it brought to his body.

"You did pretty well today," Elizabeta commented, leaning back in her chair as she held her drink. "For your first time, it seems like you're catching on fairly quickly."

Toris nodded, disagreeing but deciding not to vocalize it. Even if he did do okay, he still had very high doubts as to whether the training he would be doing was going to be nearly enough at all. He knew the faeries could handle themselves in battle, but it would be himself that would be the weakest link, most likely holding the others back. He had to prove he could hold his own, but he wasn't sure he would be able to do so in this small span of time.

But regardless of his doubt, Toris knew he didn't have a choice, so he was going to put in all he had in order to improve as much he could. Maybe then he would have a chance. And if not, well, that was the chance he was willing to take. He had already gotten this far, and he wasn't going to let his doubt cause him to back out now.

Toris drew his thoughts away from that, instead choosing to focus on other things. He had only been in the faery world for less than a day, and he realized after looking at Elizabeta and Matt that he knew very little about the two.

"So, uh, how do all of you know Feliks?" he asked shyly, looking from Elizabeta to Matt.

It was Elizabeta who answered, not to Toris' surprise. "We all met when we were kids," she explained, a wry smile forming on her face. "Faeries mature much more quickly, so we are taught by our elders starting at a young age, ending our lessons in our early teens. All of us were taught by the same elder, and I guess we all latched onto each other."

Toris nodded. "So you're all the same age then?"

Elizabeta shook her head. "Because we live longer than humans, there's a wider age range for when mental development occurs. Age doesn't determine when you start lessons but rather when the elders see you are mentally capable to begin. So, Feliks and I are nineteen of your human years, Gil and Matt are twenty, and Vash is eighteen."

Toris managed to keep a neutral expression despite his surprise at Vash being the youngest of them all. "I see," he said evenly, "so what do you even learn when you're younger?"

Elizabeta shrugged, taking another sip of her drink before placing it back down on the table. "About our world, nature, our roles, how to control and adapt our abilities, things like that."

Toris felt like that was a lot to take in as a youth, but it must not have been difficult if the faeries continued with this practice. And, if they really did mentally develop faster than humans, maybe it really was easier to absorb all that knowledge.

A thought suddenly crossed his mind, and although he was hesitant to ask, Toris decided to ask anyways. "If you don't mind me asking," he said timidly, "but what are your abilities?" he asked, looking at both Matt and Elizabeta.

They exchanged a glance before they both formed small smiles on their faces. It was Elizabeta who looked to Toris first. The two made eye contact, and suddenly, the room was no longer there. Instead, Toris was now seated in the grass in some sort of forest, surrounded by dense trees and shrubs. His eyes widened, a small surge of panic running through him. Had Elizabeta just transported him somewhere? He swiveled his head around, searching for any sign of the female faery, but she was nowhere to be seen. No, she wouldn't have just left him here - he didn't know her that well, but Toris believed she had a good character.

Before he could stand up and begin searching for the way out, the forest disappeared just as quickly as it came, and once again, Toris was back in Elizabeta's living room, in the same position he had been all of thirty seconds ago. He allowed his eyes to focus, and his gaze met Elizabeta's, who was smiling at him, noticing his apparent confusion.

"My ability allows me to form images in someone's mind," she explained lightly. "I can make someone seem as though they're somewhere else, or I can create some sort of situation or interaction that isn't really happening. It isn't very useful, and I can only focus on one person at a time, but it has its benefits."

Toris realized his mouth was hanging open, and he quickly shut it in embarrassment. Her ability was incredible, making someone see things that weren't actually there. Sure, she said it wasn't incredibly useful, but Toris' mind ran through what seemed like hundreds of ways it could be useful.

"Matt already mentioned his, but it's still pretty cool," Elizabeta said, shaking Toris from his thoughts as she nodded her head in the faery's direction.

Toris turned his gaze to Matt who seemed incredibly self conscious at that moment. He gave a small smile, running a hand through his hair nervously.

"I wouldn't say it's that great," he admitted, looking down at the ground before glancing up at Toris. "But I'll show you anyways."

Before Toris could even react, Matt suddenly was no longer seated across from him, the couch vacant. Toris blinked, frowning as he tried to comprehend what just happened. Matt just disappeared, but where did he go? He turned to Elizabeta, looking for an answer, but she only looked back at him with amusement.

"Don't worry, I'm still here," Matt's voice said, causing Toris to almost jump off the couch. His voice seemingly came from the position he had been before disappearing, but that wasn't possible. Unless Toris was blind, Matt definitely was not there.

However, as fast as Toris could blink, Matt reappeared across from him, not having moved from his original position. But this time, there was a small, white bear on his lap. Toris thought it was a fake one, but much to his surprise, the bear moved its head, shaking himself out. Toris felt his jaw dropping again, but he clamped it shut, telling himself he couldn't react like this every single time a faery showed him their ability, especially if he should have been expecting to see the ability.

"This guy here, Kumajiro, he's my familiar. He's sort of like a companion from the spirit world, but he can't remain in the faery world all the time. He has to spend some time in his world in order to recharge his energy."

Toris looked to the bear, not entirely comprehending the concept of the spirit world, but he decided to just go along with it - he'd probably have more questions if he asked for more information.

"Who's the human?" the bear, Kumajiro, suddenly spoke up, almost causing Toris to jump once again. It talked too?

Matt gave a small smile, and Toris could tell Elizabeta was trying to hold in her laughter. "This is Toris," Matt explained to his familiar as the bear climbed out of his lap and onto the couch besides the faery. "He's going to help us get Feliks back."

Kumajiro looked to Toris, creating an unnerving feeling inside him. It was almost like the bear was staring into his soul, seeing Toris' deepest fears and secrets.

However, the familiar turned away a few moments later, looking up at Matt instead. "I'm hungry," he announced.

Matt gave a light chuckle. "Alright, well I'll just send you back, and you can eat something in your world. You'll get bored just sitting here."

Kumajiro consented, and without another word, Matt closed his eyes, looking as though he was focusing on something. Within a few seconds, Kumajiro began glowing ever so slightly, and then he was gone, leaving the three of them once again alone in the room.

Toris felt speechless - there was so much to this new world that he didn't even know how to comprehend it. Would he ever get used to all these different abilities?

He felt the other two faery's eyes on him, and he realized they were waiting for his reaction. Slightly flushing, he turned his head up to look at them.

"Your abilities are incredible," he said honestly, addressing the both of them.

Elizabeta laughed. "Trust me, there are abilities much greater than ours. But thank you anyways."

She said it matter-of factly, and the comment only peaked his curiosity more. He had seen the abilities of three faery's now, one having multiple abilities, and Elizabeta said there were even better ones?

"What about Gilbert and Vash?" he asked, replacing the shyness in his tone with excitement. "What are their abilities?"

"What is my ability, you ask?" a loud voice asked as the door barged open, revealing none other than Gilbert, an arrogant grin on his face.

He strode over to the couches, taking a seat next to Elizabeta. An annoyed expression formed on her face, but Toris also couldn't help but note the slight blush that spread across her cheeks, barely noticeable.

"Not to brag, but my ability happens to be pretty awesome," Gil continued, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back into the couch. "Like Feliks, I am able to communicate with animals. However, while he communicates with the ones in your world, I speak and work with the ones that exist in the faery world. So, it's pretty awesome."

Toris became curious, not having realized there was a difference in the animals between their worlds. Although, he supposed it did make sense. "What species exist in your world?" he inquired, after taking a sip from his drink he had almost forgotten about.

Gilbert laughed. "That question is like me asking you what exists in the human world!" the faery replied, his tone implying the question wasn't able to be answered. "There are lots, although a lot of the animals in our world are very similar to yours, just with a few differences. For example,"

Gilbert paused, glancing back. Toris followed his eyes, seeing Gilbert looking toward the open window. However, he quickly glanced back to Toris with a grin, giving Toris the feeling he had been seeing if the window was open.

"In a few moments, I will show you one of our species of what you call birds," Gil continued, his eyes lit up in excitement. A quick look to his left, and Toris could see Elizabeta rolling her eyes, although there was definitely something else in her expression besides annoyance. Could it be…?

Suddenly, a small, yellow bird flew in through the window, landing softly on Gilbert's shoulder. Toris eyed it curiously - the animal definitely looked as though it could pass for a human species, but Toris had definitely never seen a bird like this in his life. He was prepared for the animal to start speaking, like Matt's familiar did, but luckily, nothing came out of the bird's beak.

"This is Gilbird!" Gilbert exclaimed proudly, patting the bird on its head gently. "He's a _fluegen_ \- it's her species name. But I named him because even if I don't call for him, he always likes to be with me. I guess I'm that awesome, right?"

As if recognizing her name, Gilbird let out a soft chirp, the sound like windchimes to Toris. It seemed that even the animals in the faery world were superior in their beauty to their counterparts in the human world.

"That's pretty cool," Toris admitted, dragging his eyes from the bird that remained perched upon the faery's shoulder.

Gilbert grinned as a triumphant look crossed his face. "I'm glad you think so, because Elizabeta thinks it's lame."

She turned to the red-eyed faery, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms. "I never said your ability was lame," she stated with a brow raised. "I said _you_ were the lame one."

Toris observed their interaction with interest. He glanced at Matt, and the faery only gave him a small, knowing smile, only confirming what Toris believed.

"Anyways," Elizabeta continued, as if clearly eager to move on, "if you want to know about Vash's ability, you should ask him to show you himself. It's better to be seen than told about."

Toris' interested increased, wondering what that could mean. However, Gilbert's laughter shook him from his thoughts. "Good luck getting Vash to willingly show him," the faery said, humour in his tone, although it almost sounded forced.

Both Elizabeta and Matt glanced at Gilbert, but he looked to the two in silence. Their inquisitive expressions cleared just as quickly, and Toris once again realized they had been communicating mentally.

Gilbert broke the silence first as he stretched his legs out on the table. "So, we have a little more than two hours left to kill," he said, glancing at the three of them. "And I know we shouldn't start formulating a plan without Vash. So," he continued, fishing something out of his pocket. Finding what he was looking for, he held it up for anyone to see, a grin on his face. "Anyone up for some cards?"


	11. Chapter 11

As it turned out, faery card games were not even close in similarity to human card games, and despite how hard he tried, Toris ended up losing every game they played. However, it was still quite enjoyable, considering Gilbert and Elizabeta got extremely vocal when they played, shouting at both each other and no one in general. Matt was pretty stoic, and he won at least more than half the games they played.

They had just finished one of the games when the door opened, revealing Vash. The others turned their eyes toward him as he entered, but he kept his cool gaze staring straight ahead as he moved over to one of the couches, taking a seat next to Matt in silence. The blonde didn't radiate so much anger as Toris first felt when meeting him - instead, his cold exterior now seemed more serious, like he was prepared and focused to complete his business there and nothing else. His arms were folded in front of him as he crossed his legs - his whole appearance made Toris feel as though he was even more closed off than several hours ago, something he didn't think was possible.

"Long time no see, Vash!" Gilbert exclaimed, picking up the cards and organizing them before placing them in his pocket. "You look awfully serious."

Vash raised a brow. "Not to burst your bubble, but we happen to be in quite a serious situation, wouldn't you agree?"

Gilbert looked ready to respond, but Elizabeta cut him off before he could utter out a single word. "Yes, we are," she said, turning to glare briefly at Gilbert before continuing. "And we've all had a little time to relax, so we should probably jump into talking about a plan."

Just like that, the light mood that had been in the room disappeared, leaving everyone somber and serious. Even Toris managed to switch his mindset so quickly - after all, they were now going to begin talking about rescue plans. This is what he needed right now, some sort of reassurance and solid idea of how they were going to get Feliks back.

Vash uncrossed his arms and legs, choosing to lean forward rather than sit back. The sleeve of his jacket rode up momentarily during the motion, and Toris caught a quick glance of what looked like a bandage wrapped around his forearm. He squinted, noticing a splotch of red on a part of the wrap, but before he could confirm it, the sleeve of his jacket re-covered the bandage. Toris frowned, his mind trying to work out if something had happened, but before it could, he felt eyes on him. He glanced up, seeing Vash staring back at him with a cold look. Toris fought the urge to flinch, not having realized he was staring at the blonde's arm. He moved his gaze away, choosing instead to glance down at the floor.

"I was thinking," Vash started, his tone even, "that this is going to be very difficult when we don't know where Feliks is being held. Sure, we can assume he's in the human king's palace somewhere, but it's very large. We could develop a generic plan without knowing where he is, but it could take too much time to find Feliks, making it easier for someone to catch us."

Toris frowned at his words, realizing the faery was right. He had only seen the outside of the palace, but he could tell from that how large it was. He assumed there was some sort of prison inside the palace, but even then, the assumption was useless without knowing the location of the potential prison. And even then, that was assuming Feliks was being held in the palace. He knew the chances were slim, but there was still the potential that Feliks was being held somewhere else.

"Someone's done his homework," Gilbert commented, smugly smiling when Vash gave him a cold look. "I'm guessing this means you've already thought further ahead?"

Vash nodded, ignoring Gilbert's attempt to lighten the mood. "There's two ways I think we can go about this. We know there's going to be plenty of knights around to ward off intruders, so the first option is all of us going in invisible and finding a guard that we can force to show us the location.

"Personally," he continued, "I think that's extremely risky and more likely to go wrong." He shifted his gaze to Matt before going on. "The other idea I had involved your familiar, Matt. Is it possible, that if we're outside the palace, you can send him inside to search for Feliks before we even enter? That way, we aren't going in blind and can get in and out more quickly."

Matt frowned as if pondering the idea. "It might work," he said slowly, clearly deep in thought. "The only problem is he would be easily seen, and I'm the only one who can summon him back to the spirit world. And if he's too far away, it'll be very difficult or impossible to do so. It might be better if I went in with him, and then I could reach out to you guys once we find his location."

Toris found a few issues with the last statement, but Elizabeta spoke up to voice her concerns before he could get his out. "No," she stated, shaking her head. "It's too much of a risk to send you in alone. Besides, we would be completely visible going in without you."

Vash nodded in agreement. "If that's the case, then we might just have to go with the first option. Even if we tried using your familiar, if anyone saw him, our plan would immediately be ruined because they would know at least one faery was there."

Gilbert frowned. "I'm fine with the first plan," he said, his voice for once not coursing with amusement, "but how are we going to get a knight to show us the way or even just tell us where Feliks is without looking suspicious to anyone else and without alerting another knight of our presence?"

"That's the problem," Vash stated, not beating around the bush. "We can hold a knife to his back, or something that others cannot see, but we don't know if he'll shout out before we can stop him. That's why it's risky. But it's either risking that and spending less time in the castle, or it means wandering around lost looking for Feliks and hoping no one finds us in the meantime."

An idea suddenly occurred to Toris, and he opened his mouth before anyone could respond to Vash. "Elizabeta," he started, turning to face her. "If your ability causes someone to see things that aren't there, maybe we could find a knight that's alone inside the castle, and you can make him think he's talking to the king. That way, that gets rid of the chance of someone alerting the others to our presence."

Toris felt Vash's hard gaze upon him, but he kept his eyes on Elizabeta, waiting for her to respond.

"It could work," she said slowly, brows narrowed in concentration. "The only thing is that I would have to be visible."

"We can just knock out anyone that sees you," Gilbert stated, seemingly confident in his idea.

Elizabeta, however, frowned at him. "I think that would be more obvious than anything," she stated, a brow raised. "Leaving a trail of bodies would definitely indicate there were intruders."

Gilbert opened his mouth to retort but closed it promptly, clearly realizing he couldn't argue.

Vash sighed, pressing the tips of his fingers together. "Maybe we should think about this part and get back to it later," he suggested, agitation in his tone. "Because there are other things we need to figure out too. Like, for example, when we find Feliks, we'll need to have at least two of us watching for any knights while the rest break him out."

Toris was silently amazed at how much thought Vash had poured into this. He was being extremely analytical, as if he had already thought of every last detail. It was clear from both his training with the faery and from their discussion now that Vash was an excellent strategist. Behind Vash's cold exterior, it seemed there was so much more to him that he wouldn't show, and it made Toris curious as to what other talent's this faery had.

"I should probably be on guard," Matt spoke up quietly, looking timid when everyone looked to him. "No one will be able to see me, so I could probably take anyone out quietly without causing a disturbance."

Elizabeta nodded. "That's not a terrible idea," she agreed, "although we should have one more of us out there with you. Maybe you, Vash?" she suggested, turning to face the blonde. "If worst came to worst, and there were a lot of guards and you couldn't alert us in time, your ability will be more useful than mine or Gil's ."

Once again, Toris' interest was peaked in what Vash's ability was, but he knew it wasn't the time to ask. Maybe he could ask the faery the next time they trained together. He knew the chances of Vash actually showing him were slim considering his lack of trust in Toris, but Toris hoped that if Vash realized he might end up showing Toris eventually in a battle, then maybe he wouldn't be so hesitant to show him now.

Toris returned his focus to the present situation, watching as Vash nodded at Elizabeta's suggestion. "That makes sense. So you, Gilbert, and Toris," he said, sounding like he struggled to get out Toris' name, "will go in and get Feliks. And I'm going to make the assumption he may be too weak to teleport everyone out of there, so we will have to get back out unnoticed. If possible, we should all try to remain invisible. But if that's too difficult, I think Elizabeta and Toris should remain invisible with Matt in order to support Feliks and get him out of there, because he's the priority. Gilbert and I can cover you guys and make sure you get out."

Elizabeta frowned, and Toris could tell he didn't like the idea. "And what if the two of you get caught?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"This whole plan involves the risk of any of us getting caught," he responded in a practical tone. "From the moment we walk in those doors, any of us could get caught. But what matters is finding the plan that gets Feliks out of there with the least risk."

Elizabeta looked about ready to retort, but Gilbert cut her off. "He's right," he said, although he sounded reluctant to agree. "We're going to have to take some risks, but we don't really have a choice. If we don't get Feliks out, that's going to mean trouble for both worlds."

Elizabeta was silent, looking as though she was trying her hardest not to snap at anyone. Toris was surprised at her reaction, only because he figured she had thought about these risks beforehand. And maybe she had, but now that everyone was actually talking about it, it was finally starting to hit her.

Silence stretched over everyone for several moments before, surprisingly, Matt was the one to break it.

"When will the best time be to do this?" he spoke up, looking around at everyone. "We need to go when there's the least amount of knights on patrol. Of course, that's assuming there _is_ a time of day when the amount lessens."

"Late at night is probably best," Toris said, finally having some sort of input in the matter. Everyone turned to look at him, and he suddenly felt shy at all the eyes. However, he continued on, knowing he would have to prove his idea was practical.

"There's typically plenty of knights around during the day because that's when everyone is out," Toris explained, knowing this well considering he was near the palace more days than not. "And typically, I would assume the patrols would increase at night in order to protect the king while he sleeps. But, the people love King Antonio, and there has never once been any violent act against him. So, I think if we go late at night, we'll run into the least people."

He watched the others, besides Vash, slowly nod, looking as though they were thinking it over. His heart fluttered ever so slightly with pride, feeling the least bit useful at having some sort of input in this plan.

"Alright, so say we go around midnight, maybe one," Gilbert started, a spark in his eyes as he addressed Toris, "is there any specific day of the week that may be better than another?"

Toris thought for a moment, his mind running through his experiences in the village. "Either a Saturday or Sunday," he replied, confident in his answer. "The village is more crowded during the week, so there are usually more patrols out then."

Gilbert nodded, seemingly okay with that, except for the slightest bit of confusion that formed on his face. "Okay,so...I don't think we have the same days of the week as you," he admitted, an amused smile cracking on his face. "So, if we went on a Saturday or Sunday, how many days would that give us?"

Toris paused, thinking it through. It was still the same day Feliks had teleported him here, meaning that it was still Tuesday. Which meant…

"That would give us four to five days," he replied, his voice a bit more quiet. He didn't mind the fact that it was that short of an amount of time, but judging from the look on Elizabeta's face, he knew they would have an issue. He knew Elizabeta's plan was to wait a week, but if they didn't go this weekend, it would be more than a week, and Toris couldn't wait that long.

Gilbert chuckled, breaking the tension Elizabeta was causing. "Well, I suppose we'll just have to train especially hard, huh?"

Elizabeta turned to him, uncertainty in her expression. "Do you really think it's a good idea to go so soon?" she questioned, her eyes only on Gilbert. "Four or five days isn't really a lot."

"It will be fine, Elizabeta," Vash responded, causing everyone to turn to him. "An extra day or two won't really make a difference in his skill," he continued, speaking evenly, glancing at Toris before looking back at Elizabeta. "It wouldn't be wise to push the date off, especially if the human is right, and those really are the best options to go."

Elizabeta was silent for a moment, staring at Vash before breaking eye contact and turning to Toris. "Are you okay with this?" she asked, her tone clearly uncertain with all of this.

Toris nodded without hesitation. "The sooner we can go, the better."

She was silent again, going several moments before letting out a small sigh. "Okay," she responded quietly before her gaze suddenly became hard. "In that case, you're training twice a day with Vash and Gilbert. You aren't going to be nearly skilled enough to take on a knight, but hopefully it'll be enough."

Toris nodded, letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in. Now that they had at least the skeleton of a plan and the date they would be acting on it, everything suddenly seemed to feel so real, like it was actually happening. Toris was going to train, and in five days time, he would be invading the king's castle to rescue a faery. Determination filled his core once again, erasing all of his self doubt. He _would_ train as hard as he could, because he was going to do whatever he could to get stronger. He wasn't going to let anyone down - even if training was going to be extremely tiresome, he didn't care. This mission was going to be a success, no matter what. And Toris was going to see through to that.


	12. Chapter 12

Lovino heard the jiggle of keys in the knob of the bedroom door, and he knew that it could only be one person. He remained seated by the window, keeping his gaze on the setting sun outside. His body stiffened as Antonio walked into the room, but he refused to acknowledge his presence by looking back.

"Hello, Lovi!" Antonio said cheerfully, encircling the faery from behind. Lovino felt himself stiffen even more at the contact, although that wasn't anything new. He had been doing so recently, every time Antonio showed his affection, but it seemed as though the king either didn't notice or was ignoring Lovino's behavior.

Lovino frowned, noticing something off. Fear began to pool in his stomach, and he knew he had to turn around to confirm what he thought he smelled. The iron cuffs he wore around his wrists made him weak, but he managed to remove himself from Antonio's embrace and turn around to face him. And, with horror, he realized he was right. While he wasn't completely drenched in it, blood stained Antonio's shirt and a small portion of his pants, blood that Lovino knew was that faery's.

"What the hell!" he snapped, suddenly forgetting his newfound fear of Antonio in favor of anger. "What did you _do_ to him?"

Antonio gave him a cheery smile, acting as if whatever he did was no big deal. "I'm just doing what I can to get his name, that's all!" he responded, his bright tone making Lovino sick to his stomach.

Lovino glared at Antonio, although his anger was fading quickly, instead being replaced with a mixture of hurt and guilt. Hurt, because this wasn't the Antonio he had fallen in love with. Guilt, because he felt he was the one who had caused this.

He had met Antonio five years ago, before he became king - Lovino had been fifteen, Antonio twenty. Lovino had been incredibly wary of the future king, considering he had grown up with the idea that faery's were dangerous to the human kingdom. Antonio, however, had been very open with Lovino, wanting to know all about him and his world. Lovino was reluctant at first, but he slowly came to open up to the human.

When Antonio was still a prince, Lovino remained his secret, although it didn't bother him. He knew Antonio was only protecting him, not wanting his father, the current king, to kill the faery. And Lovino remained a secret until about a year into Antonio's rule, although only the king's most trusted knights knew about him. But Lovino still didn't mind, because despite becoming increasingly busy, nothing had changed in their relationship - if anything, it only grew stronger. And as harsh as Lovino was on the outside, he loved Antonio with every fiber of his being.

Things slowly changed though, after one single night. They were laying in bed, Antonio running his hand through the faery's hair when his ability decided to kick in, showing him a vision of a faery different from all the others, a faery with multiple abilities. His vision showed the faery fighting off something, the details too unfocused in his mind to tell. But this faery was switching between abilities, first creating a large windstorm, next drawing up massive vines from the ground to entangle whatever it was he was fighting against. And he wasn't tiring either - he kept a hard gaze and just kept going.

He told Antonio, of course. The human knew about his ability already, and Lovino normally told him about what he saw, simply because despite their normal insignificance, Antonio found it interesting. So he told the king, and Antonio listened as he normally did. But this time, an idea seemed to take root in his mind, and after that, Antonio slowly began to change.

It was the small things, at first. It was him spacing out, seemingly lost in thought, causing Lovino to have to force him back into the present. It was Antonio spending less time with the faery, often coming back to their room late at night without a reason why.

And then, the idea of this faery became an obsession to Antonio. It became clear to Lovino that Antonio was trying to find this faery, although he didn't know why. Why did this faery's abilities matter to the king? Considering his kind and gentle persona, Lovino couldn't figure out why Antonio would want this faery. A small part of him hurt, seeing how obsessed _his_ human had become with this faery, but he tried to suppress the feeling, hoping Antonio would grow out of his obsession.

But he didn't, and Lovino realized that one night as he heard Antonio speaking to one of his knights right outside their bedroom door. He was trying to be quiet, but Antonio tended to forget that faery's had better hearing than that of humans.

"We don't need to alert the townspeople," he murmured, Lovino raising his brow in confusion, "Just keep an eye out for this faery on patrols. If any more information comes up, I will alert you."

And when he came in the room, Lovino snapped, his hurt, anger, and frustration all pooling into his words.

"What the hell do you need this faery so badly for?" he almost shouted, barely managing to keep his voice below a yell. "Why the hell are you so obsessed with him?"

Before he knew it, Lovino was pressed against the wall, Antonio's hands pressing down on his neck. Lovino couldn't breathe, both from the pressure and from fear. Antonio's gaze was cold, almost feral, something the faery had never seen one since meeting the human.

"My obsession," the king started, his voice low and dangerous, "is going to extend my rule across several kingdoms. This kingdom will become incredibly wealthy and prosperous. So _don't_ yell at me for doing what is best for this kingdom."

Lovino stared at Antonio, eyes wide in disbelief. Was this even Antonio speaking right now? He struggled against the man's grip, but he didn't release the pressure.

"Since when do you care about any of that?" he struggled to get out, barely managing to get in any air. "What happened to caring about the people you rule over now?"

Antonio let out a dark laugh, sending chills down Lovino's spine. "I have so much more potential," he responded, an eerie smile creeping up on his face. "And your vision made me realize that. With this faery, I can rule over so many more."

He stared at Lovino for a few more moments before releasing his grip, causing the faery to sputter for breath. Without another word, Antonio headed for the bathroom, and soon enough, Lovino heard the sound of water running. He stared at the bathroom door, a feeling of horror coursing through him. What the hell had happened to Antonio? This wasn't the man he had fallen in love with - the person he fell in love with was gentle and caring, not cold and ruthless. So why did he have to change?

His behavior left Lovino confused and afraid. His obsession never went away, and most days, Antonio was still cheerful and like his normal self. But the part that made Lovino fearful was how quickly Antonio's moods could change, almost like another person had entered his body. He could be cheerful in the afternoon, but when he came to their bedroom at night, he could be the dark person that had choked the faery that one night. In more occasions than one, he had hit Lovino, and other times, he had used his name to force him to do _other_ things, leaving Lovino broken and confused and simply hurt. And seeing Antonio bright and happy the next day only made things worse.

Lovino soon became afraid of his own visions, afraid that if he saw something like he saw that one night, it would only make things worse. For a long time, he thought about running away because he knew he would be able to. But, he felt incredibly guilty, feeling as though it was his fault Antonio had turned into _this_ , whatever _this_ was. He felt like if he was the one to do this, it was his responsibility to stay and maybe try to fix it.

That, and despite what he suffered through, a small part of him still loved Antonio. He knew who the king really was, and he knew that if he could get him back to who he really was, maybe things would work out.

So, he did the only thing he could think of. He told Antonio he was going to run away, knowing the king wouldn't like that. Antonio put him in iron restraints, keeping him in the bedroom. It made him feel incredibly sick and weak, but Lovino knew he didn't have a choice - it was repressing his ability, and that's what mattered. The feeling of sickness eventually faded, but the weakness never left.

After several weeks, Antonio was willing to remove the restraints to give Lovino his freedom to move around the castle again. Lovino allowed him to remove the chains, but he wouldn't let Antonio remove the cuffs from around his wrist, telling the king he would only run away if he removed them. He could tell Antonio was torn, clearly wanting to make use of the faery's ability, but also not wanting him to go away. So finally, much to Lovino's relief, he relented.

And now, after three years, Antonio finally had what he wanted, and he clearly was going to do whatever it took to get this faery's name. It made Lovino sick, but also incredibly guilty, knowing whatever Antonio was doing to this faery was all his fault, and he couldn't do anything about it.

"Antonio," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, "whatever you're doing to him, you need to stop. This isn't you, and you know it."

The king stared at him in silence for a moment before smiling again. "Lovino, it's going to be okay," he said reassuringly. "I know what I'm doing, I promise."

Lovino didn't respond, not even sure what was right to say anymore. Although, he realized bitterly, it clearly didn't matter what he said anymore, because Antonio didn't, _wouldn't_ , listen to him.

Antonio reached his hand outward, cupping the faery's cheek as he softly pressed his lips to the others. Lovino didn't move - he once would have relished in a moment like this, but his heart was so conflicted that he didn't know what to feel or how to react in moments like this.

Antonio pulled away, a soft smile on his lips. "Loviniran," he murmured, chills running down the faery's spine upon hearing his name, "I'm tired. Let's go to bed, shall we?"


	13. Chapter 13

Three days had gone by in a blur, with Toris alternating between training with Gilbert and Vash, resting and learning other things in his off-time. It was exhausting - he had more bruises and scrapes than he could count. But he wasn't upset with it - in fact, despite the various aches in his body, he really felt like he was getting the hang of things. Not to say he could take on a full fledged knight right at that moment, but he had definitely raised his skills from that of a five year old child.

And the fact that they were leaving in two days time only made him push himself harder. His nerves were rising, but with it also rose his motivation. He had two days to perfect his skills the best he could. And he had to if he wanted all of them to make it out of the palace.

He was currently training with Vash, and despite the exhaustion settling in from their session nearing two hours, he kept his mind utmostly focused. He still couldn't fend off the faery completely, but he had managed several times to at least dodge out of the way or force Vash to change his tactic. It was slow progress, but it was progress nonetheless.

There was a sudden blur of motion, and before he knew it, his sword was sent spiraling out of his hand. Before, he would have watched it sailing off into the distance - but now, with the few sessions of training he had, he prepared himself for another attack from Vash, knowing he was at his weakest without his weapon.

However, an advance never came. Vash stood several feet away from Toris, simply staring at him with an unreadable expression for several moments, leaving Toris staring back, trying to figure out what the faery was thinking.

Finally, Vash turned away, going over to pick up his dagger from where it was discarded on the ground. "We're done for today," he stated, slipping the weapon into his pocket. "Your form is getting sloppy. We'll do a light session tomorrow."

The faery then grabbed his jacket, slipping his arms inside. He had been wearing a long sleeve, but as Vash put on the jacket, Toris caught another glimpse of his forearm, although this time, there weren't any bandages covering it.

The sleeve covered his arm once again, but it had been uncovered for enough time for Toris to see a large cut, one that looked very recent. He frowned, his curiosity peaking once again, although this time, there was a slight tinge of worry to the feeling.

"What happened to your arm?" Toris asked before he could stop himself.

Vash paused, his expression not changing, although Toris got the feeling he had overstepped his boundaries. Nerves settled in his stomach, but after a moment's thought, he pushed the feeling away. No, he wasn't going to let this faery intimidate him. He understood that Vash didn't trust him, and that was fine with him. But at the end of the day, he and Vash were in this together, and if something was wrong, he wasn't going to turn a blind eye to it.

"Training," Vash answered finally, his tone even.

Toris nodded. He didn't seem to be lying, but for some reason, he definitely did not want to talk about it. That much was evident by him already beginning to head for the door.

"Vash, wait!" Toris called out, deciding to take advantage of his sudden confidence to ask the question that he had been wondering about for the past few days.

The blonde turned, looking at Toris with a cool gaze. His expression wasn't angry, but it was clear he was slightly annoyed. Toris faltered for a brief moment, suddenly wondering if it was even his place to ask. But no, he did the same with the other faery's, and if it wasn't a problem asking them, he could do the same with Vash.

"I've seen or at least heard about everyone else's abilities," Toris started, hoping his voice didn't sound too timid. "I asked Elizabeta about yours, but she said it's better to be seen. So I was wondering, if maybe you could show me?"

Vash's eyes narrowed, and whatever confidence Toris previously had went away. He looked back at the faery nervously, realizing he'd definitely overstepped his bounds.

"You don't have too," he said quickly, rushing to get the words out. "I know you barely know me and you don't trust me, so I understand if you don't want to-"

Toris stopped, seeing something from the corner of his eye that made his voice catch. Slowly, he turned his head, his eyes widening in surprise at the sight. Over on the kitchen counter was a glass, one Toris had left for when he needed a water break during their training. But the water was no longer in the glass - rather, it was seemingly hovering above it all on its own.

The small pool of water began moving within itself, first forming a sort of circle before moving slowly back toward the pair. Toris followed the water with his eyes until it stopped in front of Vash, hovering above his palm which was directed upward in front of him. Toris didn't understand how this was possible, how any of these abilities were possible, but it was so incredible that he allowed himself, for once, to accept there wasn't an answer to this.

After a few moments of allowing the water to simply hover, the faery directed his palm to the left, and the water quickly flew (was that the right word?) back to the glass, falling inside without a droplet spilling anywhere.

"That's about it," Vash said, pulling Toris from his thoughts. "I don't really know why Elizabeta couldn't have just told you, but whatever."

Toris turned his gaze away from the glass to face Vash. "That was incredible," he said, knowing how awestruck he sounded.

The blonde snorted, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "That was a glass of water," he deadpanned, his tone implying it wasn't impressive at all.

"So you can do more then?" Toris questioned, his curiosity taking over from his timidness.

Vash shrugged, looking uncomfortable with all the attention. "I control water. So as long as there's water around, I can do something with it."

To his surprise, Vash's tone was almost tense, for once not having a cold undertone. Toris hadn't heard this from the faery, and he wondered if this topic wasn't something he wanted to focus on. But why though? It was just an ability, one that all of the fae had. Was it something about his in particular? Or did it involve the human he had heard about already?

On one hand, Toris didn't want to push, but he also didn't want to be completely in the dark about what happened with Vash and this human. He knew he couldn't ask directly considering one, Vash would outright reject the idea of telling Toris anything, and two, Toris didn't know how he would react. He knew this topic was making him uncomfortable, so he figured if he stayed on this topic, maybe it could lead to something.

"So regardless of the size of the body of water, you can still use your ability?" he questioned.

"I can't move all the water at once, but I can still control parts of it," Vash answered, pausing before adding, "Now I think that's enough about my ability."

Okay, so Toris wasn't wrong. The faery definitely didn't want to keep going down that path for whatever reason.

"Well, thank you for showing me," Toris started, keeping his gaze on Vash, "I know you don't trust me, and I know showing a human your ability is probably the last thing you wanted to do, so thanks."

"I'm not doing this for you," Vash answered steadily, although his tone wasn't as harsh as it normally was, taking on a more defensive tone instead. "This is for Feliks and the rest of the kingdom."

Toris nodded, feeling a small smile form on his face. Vash didn't immediately bark at him, which gave Toris the slightest hope that the faery was at least somewhat warming up to him. However, Vash seemed like he was about to head out, and Toris still had one question that had been on the back of his mind.

"Vash," he started again, his voice more timid, "if you think there's a chance I'll betray all of you, why are you helping me?"

He had been wondering this the past few days. If Vash wanted to help save Feliks, he could have done so without helping Toris. In fact, he could have had zero contact with Toris if he so chose. But Vash made the choice to help out, and it made Toris believe there had to be some other reason. So, he waited patiently as blonde stared back at him with an unreadable expression, the silence between them stretching for several moments.

"If you really do have good intentions with Feliks, then I won't stand in the way of that," Vash said finally, his voice not betraying any other emotion. "And, if it turns out you are against us, I can, and will, easily end you. Your combat skills are horrendous, so much that I don't believe for an instant that you could be faking it."

Oh. He hadn't been expecting that. Well, the combat part, yes, because his lack of skills was no secret. But the fact that Vash would cast aside his own judgements in order to see to his friend's happiness? That he didn't expect, mainly because the only side he had seen to Vash was his cold and closed off attitude. It made him believe there was a lot more to this faery that he had suppressed inside after his incident with the human.

Toris gave a small smile. "I promise you," he assured, "I will never do anything to hurt him, or any of you."

The sound of voices could suddenly be heard outside, but Toris kept his gaze on Vash, waiting for a response. The faery almost looked frozen, hurt flashing briefly across his face before being replaced by a detached look, leaving Toris wondering if he had even seen the emotion at all.

"That's what they all say, isn't it?" Vash responded, his voice sounding hollow and far away.

Toris looked to him, opening his mouth to say something in return. However, before he could, the door burst open, revealing Matt, Elizabeta, and Gilbert. Toris kept his gaze on Vash, wanting to say something in response, but it was clear from the way he turned away that the conversation was over.

"Toris!" Gilbert exclaimed, throwing his arm around the brunette's shoulder. Toris kept his eyes on Vash for a second longer, feeling helpless for setting him off and leaving him without a comforting response. However, he was forced to turn his attention away and back to Gilbert, and he gave him a small smile.

"I know you just finished training," Gilbert continued, and Toris noticed everyone's eyes on him, except Vash, of course. "But before you rest, we're going to run through the final plan."


	14. Chapter 14

Feliks lie on the ground, the coldness of the stone somewhat soothing the pulsing in his head. His entire body was in pain, and every time he so much as moved an inch, flares of pain shot throughout him. He also had a feeling of nauseousness and weakness that wouldn't go away, thanks to his iron chains.

He supposed he shouldn't be complaining yet - he didn't know how much time had passed since being brought there, but he had the feeling things weren't as bad as they were going to get. So far, the king had tried only a few different things. He first used a knife, drawing out deep, long cuts all over Feliks' body. To say it was agonizing would be an understatement, and it took all of his strength not to scream. Of course, he did yell insults at the king, although it didn't exactly help him in any way.

Antonio then tried electrocution, which was even worse due to the iron he wore. Luckily, it didn't take him too long to pass out from that. It was back to making him bleed after he woke up from that, and despite the pain, Feliks couldn't help but think the king wasn't being very creative.

Yet.

He drew in a shallow breath, trying to take whatever time he had to just rest his body. It was clear Antonio desperately wanted his name, but it seemed as though he would be patient enough to take things slow. It made Feliks wonder just how long he was going to be here, and if he could even hold out. He knew he would never give up his name to someone like this human king, but if it came to the point where he knew he wouldn't be able to escape, he had to prepare for the possibility that he may just need to let himself go.

 _At least the others are safe,_ he thought to himself idly, staring through half lidded eyes at the wall. His mind drifted to Toris, and a small pit of guilt wove its way through him. He never should have gotten the human involved - he wouldn't have had to send him away if he just left him alone. At least he was safe now, but things would have been better if Feliks had just left as soon as he could rather than remain with the human.

He just had to trust that Elizabeta would understand his intentions for sending Toris there, and would keep him safe. He couldn't risk any of them coming out into the human world, not at a time like this.

The sound of the door opening shook Feliks from his thoughts, but he didn't move from where he lay, instead just waiting for the footsteps to approach him. A small sliver of fear shot through him, but it did nothing to shake his composure. Maybe it was because he knew the others were safe, or maybe it was because in his mind, he had accepted this was how he would live out his days. Either way, he was oddly calm for the situation he was in.

A hand suddenly grabbed his hair, yanking him up onto his knees. He choked back a gasp, tears involuntarily springing to his eyes from the sudden force. He felt the presence of the king behind him, and soon, his hot breath could be felt at Feliks' ear. He couldn't see the king, but he could tell the man was smiling.

"Ready to begin?"

~~()~~

Vash managed to cross his swords in front of his chest just in time, protecting him from the sword of the autosoldier he was fighting. Gritting his teeth, he spun out of the way, the autosoldier moving forward from the sudden lack of pressure. Vash swept his right arm forward, aiming for the soldier's back, but it turned around quickly, sweeping its own weapon out. An unexpected move like that would have taken out a less experienced faery, but Vash was trained to remain on his toes and simply slid out of the sword's reach.

Leaving no room to breathe, the soldier came at him again, directing blow after blow, forcing Vash to be on the defensive. Watching the autosoldier's movements, Vash moved his swords accordingly, protecting his body from any damage. He was doing fine, but he knew one couldn't stay on the defensive forever. He waited a moment, defending himself from one more attack before rolling to the side. Vash felt the sharpness of the soldier's sword slice his shoulder, but he ignored it, knowing now was the perfect opportunity to finish it. With the solider open in preparation for another attack, Vash lashed out with his right hand, sword impaling the body in front of him. The soldier froze for several moments until, having been defeated, it suddenly disappeared.

"I see you still refuse to attack from behind, even when it'll end a fight more quickly," a voice suddenly said from over to his left.

Vash didn't have to turn his head to see who had spoken. "Attacking from behind is meant for unskilled, weak fighters," he responded, running his finger along the blade of his right sword, noting it was a bit dull. He'd have to sharpen it after this.

"Don't you think you should be taking it easy?" Matt asked, still standing several feet away from Vash. "We leave in a day."

Vash finally turned to face the other faery. "I know my limits, Matt," he said, keeping his voice steady.

"Going until you get injured isn't a limit," Matt responded quietly. "Your shoulder is bleeding."

Vash grit his teeth, trying to keep his patience. He knew Matt meant well, but he also didn't need anyone else in his business.

"It's fine," he insisted, turning away to face the arena again. He was wasting too much time talking - if Matt hadn't shown up, he would already be engaged in another fight.

He started to walk forward, but Matt's hand gripped his wrist, gently but firmly. Vash glanced back, trying to keep the annoyance out of his face. It was one thing to snap at Gilbert because he was annoying as hell, but he always felt guilty when he got angry with Matt.

Matt's gaze fell from Vash's eyes to his forearm, traveling upward as he took in the sight of the expanse of lacerations covering his skin, some old, some new. He maintained a neutral expression, but Vash could tell the faery was worried. Guilt flooded inside him, but he quickly flushed it away. He hadn't done anything wrong - it wasn't his fault if Matt was concerned.

"Vash," the faery started, softly releasing his arm, "What level are you putting the autosoldiers at?"

Vash fought back a wince, understanding instantly why he was being asked this. It was because once he was able to actually get himself out of bed after what happened in the human world, he needed an outlet, something to get all of his emotions out. So, he turned to training. He had done it all his life, but after what happened, he focused so much more on it, the combat training almost becoming a lifeline to him.

Except, the first time after the event, the normal level he trained at wasn't enough to handle his anger. So, he increased the autosoldiers level and continued to do so until it was at a level way too high for his skills. The autosoldiers were created by a faery a long time ago, running on residual magic to run. They were smart and were a formidable opponent to train against, but they weren't smart enough to know when to stop on their own - they had to be commanded. And Vash, being knocked to the brink of unconsciousness by this soldier, would have been killed if it weren't for Matt showing up and shutting it down. And even then, Matt had to take him to Elizabeta to fix his wounds and set several of his ribs which had broken in the impact.

So yes, he could understand if Matt was worried. "It's not at _that_ level," he answered, voice slightly softer. "They're running at a manageable level."

Matt looked at him as though he didn't believe him. Vash wanted to be angry, but he couldn't find the emotion inside him. If he saw gashes like his on someone else, he wouldn't believe them either.

"I promise Matt, okay?" he tried again, knowing he had to convince him somehow. He didn't need anyone worrying about him - he could manage things fine on his own, just as he had been doing for this long.

"I'm running them at a challenging level," Vash continued, "but it's nothing that'll kill me."

Matt stared at him for several moments in silence as analyzing him for the truth. Vash didn't break eye contact either despite the feelings of guilt that he couldn't seem to force down.

Finally, Matt let out a soft sigh. "You know we're all worried about you," he stated.

Vash rolled his eyes, feigning annoyance to cover up the fact that in reality, he felt bad that once again, he was inconveniencing the others. This is why he preferred to keep his thoughts to himself - that way, no one was bothered.

"I wish you guys wouldn't," he muttered in response, then, noting Matt's expression, quickly changed the subject. "Look, if it'll ease your mind, I'll stop for today. Just please, stop worrying about me and focus on yourselves."

Matt stared at him for another moment before finally letting out a breath, seemingly in defeat. "Can I at least clean your shoulder?" he asked, eyes pleading Vash to accept.

Vash knew there was no way out of this without greatly disappointing Matt and causing him to tell the others about what happened. Well, Vash was sure he would tell them anyway, but he figured it might ease the situation if he handled it in a way they would think was responsible.

"Fine," he uttered, placing his swords carefully on the ground before walking over to one of the benches. He took a seat and carefully peeled off his shirt, grimacing when the fabric stuck to his shoulder. He had been too distracted before, but now that he was being forced to focus on it, he realized a lot of blood had pooled out of the wound, staining a large portion of his shirt and dripping down his skin as well. Great.

He heard Matt come up behind him, sucking in his breath upon seeing his exposed shoulder. "Seriously, Vash," he muttered in a deadpan voice, placing a set of bandages from the arena's storage shed onto the bench beside the blonde. Apparently, the wound was worse than both Matt and Vash thought, and Matt definitely disapproved of it now.

However, he quietly began working, taking clean cloth to clean the wound and the area around it first. After that, he put a salve over his shoulder, soothing the exposed area. He made sure to be gentle, although it almost felt wrong to Vash. Matt was clearly upset, or concerned, or whatever, and considering Vash was the one to distress him, he didn't think he entirely deserved to be treated this well.

"Remember that one time Gil fell out of a tree, and he was bleeding like crazy from that cut he got on his side?" Matt said suddenly, his voice quiet and reminiscent. "I was terrified," he continued, and Vash could hear the smile in his voice. "But you weren't fazed at all. You just went over to him and started patching up the cut like it was nothing. I mean, you wouldn't stop yelling at him and calling him an idiot, but you pulled through and fixed him up before things got bad."

Vash was silent, his mind recollecting the memory. That must have been four or so years ago, when Vash was fourteen. It was the time of year when the neitrei, an animal similar to the human's deer, migrated from the winter kingdom to the summer kingdom. The three had never actually watched a huge herd migrating, so they decided to go out into the woods and wait. Gil, of course, had thought it would be a good idea to watch from above, insisting the view would be much better. So, despite the various warnings from Vash and Matt, he climbed up, until he reached a branch that snapped under his weight, causing him to fall to the ground that was so far beneath him.

Vash's heart stopped momentarily as he ran over to Gilbert, seeing the faery groan as he rolled over. A large pool of blood was quickly beginning to stain the fabric of his shirt, and a glance to Gilbert's right told Vash he had landed on a sharp, jagged stone. The wound wasn't fatal, but if the bleeding wasn't slowed down soon, it wouldn't be good.

Gritting his teeth, Vash removed his jacket and then his shirt, tearing the fabric up into strips before placing the remaining fabric against the wound. Gilbert grinned lazily up at him, only making Vash want to yell at him. He had gotten extremely worried watching his friend fall, and instead of being the friend that constantly asked if an injured person was okay, he tended to get angry, especially when they acted recklessly.

"You are such an idiot," he hissed, putting more pressure on the wound. "You could have gotten yourself killed. Did you even think about that? You are _so stupid_."

He kept grumbling, but it only seemed to make Gilbert want to laugh. Finally though, when the bleeding had stopped and Gilbert was able to get up, he gave Vash a small smile.

"Thanks," he said, his voice sounding earnest as he looked from Vash to Matt, who had been standing off behind Vash. "And sorry for scaring you two."

As disinterested in others as Vash appeared on the outside, he did care about the ones he called his friends, so he was glad that something this bad hadn't happened again. He didn't think he could ever get used to the hurt he felt inside his chest when he watched someone else get hurt, or act recklessly.

He drew his mind back to the present, almost curious as to why Matt brought up this story. Sure, now Matt was treating Vash's wound without being terrified as he was all those years ago, but he had a feeling that wasn't the reason he was bringing it up.

"You were different then," Matt murmured, answering Vash's question without him having to ask it. "You were still serious, sure, but you still had an interest in others, and in the world. You yelled at us when we acted carelessly, but now it's you who's doing it, and you don't even seem to care about the consequences it'll bring to you. It's like you're living, but you aren't really living."

Vash remained silent as Matt began bandaging the wound. His mind ran through Matt's words, but he wasn't sure how to respond. He knew Matt was right; after the incident, he became an almost completely different person, closing himself off to protect himself. At least, that's what he thought he was doing. He knew the others were worried about him, but he'd always ignored it, telling himself if he wasn't breaking down in front of them, they would eventually stop worrying.

He knew he changed, but he didn't think the others were still thinking about it.

"Sorry if this is weird," Matt continued, and once again, Vash could hear a small smile in his voice. "It's just, we're all still used to how you used to be. So when we see how you act now, we can't help but know things aren't completely okay."

Vash knew Matt didn't mean it, but the words still stung. He looked down, suddenly feeling, once again, as though it was his fault for making things different. For making the others dislike the person he now was.

He stood up. He could feel Matt looking at him from behind, but Vash didn't turn around. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice cold as ice, "I'm sorry if I upset you, but things aren't going back to how they were, no matter how much you guys want it."

Vash heard Matt let out a small noise, probably from surprise, but he didn't stick around to hear his response. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said in a voice devoid of emotion, and without another word, he began walking away, his emotions too tumultuous to care about leaving Matt standing all alone.

~~()~~

It was fairly late at night, and, looking completely exhausted, Toris retreated to the room Elizabeta had designated was his to sleep in. It was now only Gilbert and Elizabeta, sitting quietly in her living room.

Gilbert felt that maybe he should leave considering the time of night and what they would be doing tomorrow, but he also felt that he hadn't gotten any chance to talk with Elizabeta since this whole rescue mission was thrown at them. In front of everyone else, Elizabeta always radiated confidence, but now that it was just the two of them, he could tell something was on her mind, and he didn't want to dismiss it if it was something important.

"So, how are you doing with all of this?" he asked after a few moments of silence, trying to keep a gentle voice.

Elizabeta looked up, her eyes briefly meeting his own before falling back to the table. There were several things indicating to Gilbert something was bothering her, and not making eye contact was definitely one of them.

She shrugged, taking several moments before responding. Except, instead of answering his question, she gave one of her own. "Do you think we'll really be able to pull this off?" she asked, finally looking up at him with uncertainty in her eyes.

Gilbert just stared back, hating how, despite the seriousness of the conversation and how troubled Elizabeta seemed, he couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful she looked. But that wasn't anything new - at some point which he couldn't remember, he had gone from seeing Elizabeta as some girl who he could annoy the shit out of, to someone _much_ more than that. Of course, he could never tell her that - they had their moments like the one they were having now, but considering how irritated he made her, he was positive she only saw him as a friend, nothing more.

"If we stick with the plan, then yes, I think it'll all go fine," he responded after a beat, trying his hardest to keep his mind on the conversation at hand.

Elizabeta nodded, silent for a moment. Gilbert waited, knowing there was something else she wanted to say. He had an idea of what else was on her mind from the way her gaze trailed back down to the ground, as if hesitant to speak up. However, he didn't want to push or jump to conclusions - Elizabeta wasn't known for holding back, so if she was hesitating, he didn't want to say something that would cause her to close up to him. Despite his boisterous personality, he knew when to tone it down, especially for Elizabeta.

It was after a longer stretch of silence that the brunette finally spoke again. "I'm worried," she said, still looking down at the ground in front of her. "If we fail…" she trailed off again, seeming as though she wasn't going to finish the thought.

"If we fail," Gilbert said, looking at Elizabeta despite her turned gaze, "then we can tell the king, and he'll take care of it."

Gilbert didn't like the idea of involving the faery king, simply because that would mean admitting defeat. But, if they did somehow fail on their mission, they wouldn't have much of a choice.

Elizabeta snorted, although it lacked any vigour. "I'm sure he already knows Feliks' current situation and is only waiting to see what we do before stepping in."

Gil raised a brow, not having considered this before. Since no one had informed Arthur of Feliks' capture, he assumed the king was in the dark about it all. But, being the king, he _did_ always seem to know what was happening in the kingdom. So, if there was a chance he already knew that the most powerful faery had been captured and that their group was going to retrieve him…

"So that's a good thing then," Gil replied, causing Elizabeta to turn her gaze to him in slight confusion. "If he hasn't stepped in to stop us or give us advice or whatever, it means he thinks we have a chance of getting this done the first time. If he thought this was a bad idea, or things could turn out worse by us going, he would have stepped in by now. So, I think-"

"That's not what I'm worried about!" Elizabeta cut in, her voice much more harsh than Gilbert had been expecting.

The two sat, looking at each other in silence for several moments until Elizabeta turned her head away again, seemingly calmer.

"I don't want to lose any of you from this mission," she said, so quietly Gil almost didn't catch the words escaping her mouth. "And I feel that with this many unknowns, something is going to happen to one of you."

Gilbert stared at Elizabeta, silence overtaking the two. Gilbert wasn't surprised by her confession - despite Elizabeta's tough exterior, she was extremely caring toward others. That, he was used to. But he had never seen her so troubled as she was now, not even when she was afraid Vash was going to self destruct.

Gilbert suddenly felt like he didn't know what to do. It wasn't like he hadn't had to comfort her before - the occurrences were rare, but they happened. And when they did, Gil normally would say some words of assurance, and if she really needed it, he would embrace her, drawing her in for comfort. And it seemed like those would be the right steps to take in this situation, but for some reason, he felt his voice was stuck in his throat. He didn't want to mess this up and say something that would make her upset, and at the same time didn't want to overstep his bounds.

 _Why am I thinking so hard about this?_ he thought to himself, inwardly sweating as the seconds ticked by.

Of course, he knew why he was hesitating, and he once again cursed himself for falling in love with this faery and making everything so difficult. If he still liked her as the friend he met so many years ago, he wouldn't have to overthink his every single move.

"Liz," he started, turning his whole body so it was facing her, "I know you're worried, and I don't blame you. But we're all capable fighters, and you guys all have awesome abilities that can help. Sure, there's a chance the plan will go wrong, but if you go into this thinking we're going to lose someone, then you're only setting yourself up for that. You have to have faith that we can pull this off, because if you doubt it, then so will everyone else."

Elizabeta didn't respond and was still looking down at the ground. Gil kept his eyes on her face, watching for any change in her expression. However, her thoughtful yet uneasy appearance remained in place, causing him to slightly panic. Had he said the wrong thing?

However, a small smile formed on her face, much to Gil's surprise. "Why is it that you always seem to know the right things to say?"she commented, turning to look at the red eyed faery from the corner of her eyes. "You act like an idiot all the time, yet you always say such smart things when it comes down to it."

Gilbert stared at her for a brief moment, feeling as though his heart stopped momentarily. Elizabeta didn't break eye contact, and seeing her look like this, like she was still upset but was entirely grateful for his presence...well, he hadn't wanted to kiss her more in any other moment than now.

Instead of doing that, he let out a laugh, allowing a slight grin to form on his face despite the aching in his chest. "Maybe I act like an idiot so people don't take advantage of my intelligence," he responded, raising a brow as if feigning seriousness.

She snorted, although this time, it was a bit more playful. It was clear she was still anxious, but Gilbert could tell she was a bit more calm now, much to his relief.

"Yeah, that's it," she said, raising a brow in disbelief. Gilbert allowed an expression of mock hurt to take over his face, and she gave another smile, looking down at the space between them on the couch.

"Thanks Gil, seriously," Elizabeta said, eyes drifting up to meet his.

Gilbert felt his breath catch again, but this time, he forced himself to get some words out before it stretched into an uncomfortable silence.

"Anything for you, Liz," he replied with a grin, a playful tone to his words.

But despite how teasing the words were, Gilbert knew they were true. Because whether she believed him or not, he really would do anything for her.


	15. Chapter 15

The first thing Toris noticed was the soft, warm breeze drifting through what appeared to be a small valley. It gently stirred the leaves and branches of the surrounding trees, providing the only sound around. A few wood houses were built around Elizabeta's, but far enough away so there was plenty of space. A large space of grass opened up in front of Toris, and that area was surrounded by a forest densely packed with trees.

What appeared to be a full moon illuminated the area, making it possible for Toris to observe his surroundings. And not only did light come from the moon, but there were several floating lights, in shades of pastel blues, pinks, and yellows. He stared at whatever they were, watching wide eyed as they meandered through the air with ease, almost like fireflies. However, these appeared to be much larger. Either that, or they were small but gave off a greater amount of light.

He didn't want to be distracted, but he couldn't help but become entranced by the faery kingdom. Just like the fae themselves, the land had an air of beauty and perfection that was so foreign to Toris, an air that made him want to just stand there watching everything around him. He could almost feel the energy and the magic coming from the earth, pulsating beneath his feet. If it was this incredible at night, he could only imagine what it looked like in broad daylight.

He felt a gentle nudge in his side, and Toris glanced over to see Gilbert, looking at him with an almost apologetic look.

"Ready to go?" the red eyed faery asked, his voice holding more of a solemn tone.

Toris looked behind Gilbert to see the others waiting behind him, their eyes on Toris. They all looked serious, although their expressions still differed slightly. Elizabeta and Matt both had a determined expression, appearing confident and ready for action. The two could have been nervous, but if they were, Toris wouldn't have been able to tell. And Vash, well, his stone cold gaze hadn't changed. If he was feeling fear, or anger, or something else entirely, Toris wouldn't have been able to tell.

With a small breath, Toris turned his gaze back to Gil, giving him a short nod. "Let's go."

Gilbert kept his gaze on Toris for another moment before turning away, walking toward the forest at a brisk pace. The others joined, and Toris found himself struggling to match their pace.

"There's an entrance to your world in here," Gilbert said over his shoulder as the group entered the forest. "It's visible to us, but not visible to the human eye. That's why humans haven't discovered any of the entrances."

Toris nodded but didn't respond as they suddenly diverged from the dirt path, choosing instead to traipse off the beaten path. They followed a very faint trail, as if others had gone in the same direction as they, but it seemed as though it hadn't been traveled in a very long time. Although, considering the relationship between the fae and the humans, it didn't surprise Toris. Maybe journeys into the human world were very infrequent, and faery's like Feliks were just a rarity.

After what was maybe ten more minutes, Gilbert and the others stopped, catching Toris by surprise. He almost collided into Vash's back, earning a glare from the blonde. Toris felt himself flush, and he turned his gaze toward Gilbert to wait for his explanation as to why they were stopping here, in the middle of nowhere.

However, it was Matt that spoke up instead of Gilbert. "Everyone needs to remain in direct or indirect contact with me if we're all going to remain invisible."

Toris looked at him in mild confusion. Why were they going invisible now? They weren't supposed to until they reached the portal, so that on the off chance there were knights or other humans nearby when they emerged, they wouldn't be seen.

He was about to open his mouth when he stopped himself, realizing all too quickly that this must have meant they were at the portal already. He frowned, trying to discreetly look around for a sign of it, but nothing looked out of the ordinary - the area here looked the same as the rest of the forest they had trekked through.

Toris shook himself from his thoughts quickly as he noticed the others getting ready. Elizabeta grabbed one of Matt's wrists, and Vash latched onto her's. Gil stood nearby, and Toris realized the red eyed faery was waiting for him.

 _Right_ , Toris thought, moving to clasps his fingers around Matt's other wrist before Gil went in front of him, grasping Toris' wrist. This had been the plan - to have Vash and Gilbert on the ends with one hand free, in case they needed to attack or defend themselves.

"Everyone ready?" Matt asked, turning his head to glance at everyone.

Everyone gave curt nods, and taking that as a confirmation, Matt turned his head forward. Within moments, Toris noticed everyone's body's become basically see through - they weren't completely invisible to Toris, but they were hardly visible, their forms looking as though they were about to fade away. Toris looked down at this own form, seeing the same thing. He felt a mixture of excitement and terror, seeing himself like this, although he supposed he would rather see himself and the others like this rather than not see them at all.

Toris felt a gentle tug on his wrist, and he looked up to see Gilbert beckoning forward with his head. Toris took the hint, and with that, the chain began moving forward into the forest, step by step until he began to feel a sort of energy radiating from in front of him. It was an odd feeling, one he couldn't describe with words, but Gilbert continued moving toward it nevertheless.

Before he even knew what had happened, Toris found himself standing in another forest, one distinctly lacking the feel of the one he was previously in. He glanced around, realizing quickly they were back in the human world. His eyes widened in surprise, amazed that going through the portal felt like nothing at all. They had just walked right into some invisible portal, and they were suddenly transported into the human world. He had to force his mind to stop itself from thinking about how something like that could possibly work - they had a task to focus on, and he needed to be there mentally one hundred percent.

Without waiting another moment, the group began moving forward, emerging from the woods at a point close to the village. Toris could recognize his own house not too far from them, and surprise once again took him at the fact that an entrance to the fae kingdom was so close, yet it continued to go undetected by humans.

They moved at a swift pace, reaching the outside of the palace in no more than fifteen minutes. They had encountered no more than one or two knights on the way over, but now that the castle walls were directly in front of them, Toris could already see two knights outside the only entrance to the palace. His stomach lurched with nerves - despite knowing they would encounter knights, he still felt fear upon looking at them.

Gilbert moved forward with purpose, directly toward the entrance of the palace. However, when they were within meters of the two knights, they paused. Carefully, Gil opened his pocket, taking out several small stones. He threw the first one away from the entrance, and as soon as it hit the ground, the knights whipped their heads over to see what made the sound. Seeing as he had their attention, he threw another, the knights too focused on looking in the direction of the sound that they failed to see where it was being thrown from.

Gilbert threw a fourth stone, this one reaching the side of the palace. Clearly thinking something was amiss, the knights exchanged a look before one left the entrance, moving toward the side of the palace to investigate. Toris watched, suddenly nervous that one guard remained at the entrance. However, not missing a stride, Gil took another stone and threw it in the opposite direction. When it hit the ground, the knight left at the entrance turned his head, eyes narrowing in suspicion before taking out his weapon and moving toward the second sound.

When the two were far enough away, the group took the chance and moved toward the door, opening it and entering as quietly as they could, before either of the knights noticed. Toris' heart pounded with nerves, terrified that one of the knights would notice. But luckily, they managed to shut the door with ease, surprisingly not encountering any guards immediately inside. Clearly, his nerves weren't going to die down until they got out of there with Feliks, but Toris let out the slightest sigh of relief upon at least making it inside.

Gilbert took a moment to look back at all of them in confirmation before moving forward with stealth, everyone taking care to keep as quiet as possible - while they were invisible to the eye, any noise they made could still be heard.

They had no idea where Feliks was being held and had no idea what the layout of the castle was like. Before coming, they figured he would most likely be in some sort of holding cell which, from Toris' insight, they determined would most likely be in a lower level of the castle. So, until they found a knight they could press for information, the group moved deeper into the castle, looking for a set of stairs or some sort of hallway that would lead them downstairs.

All the while, Toris fought to keep his fear in check. The castle was eerily quiet, and he found himself jumping at every sound and every motion, afraid it would be a guard who had caught them. He had to keep reminding himself that they couldn't be seen, that as long as they were quiet, they would pull this off without any problems.

They turned a corner, and Toris saw two guards at one end of the hallway. However, Gilbert kept moving forward - it was too risky trying to get information from two knights. They continued going down different hallways, looking for any sort of staircase that may lead them down. But after seemingly pursuing the entire ground floor, they hadn't found anything.

"We might have to try the doors," Toris whispered, loud enough so only the others could hear.

Up until that point, they had been avoiding doing so, just in case they opened a door to reveal someone else inside. But, after looking at everyone else's expression, Toris could tell they knew they were running out of options and were going to have to start taking larger risks.

Gilbert let out a barely audible sigh, opening his mouth to respond. However, before he could, a lone figure emerged from down the hallway. Everyone silenced themselves and watched the person to see what he was doing, and judging if he was a threat. Toris frowned - he clearly wasn't a knight considering his attire, but if that was the case, then who was it? Antonio didn't have any children or relatives that lived in the palace, so he certainly wasn't anyone royal, at least from this kingdom. And if he wasn't from this kingdom, well, it made sense. As the man paused in the hallway, he glanced around, giving the appearance of being lost.

It was when the man turned his head in their direction when Toris felt the grip on his wrist tighten ever so slightly, and he looked up to Gilbert in confusion, thinking Gil saw the man as a threat. However, the look in the faery's face didn't indicate fear - rather, stark hatred was displayed on his face as he glared at the man. Toris watched with uncertainty, unsure as to why Gil was looking at this stranger with such an expression.

However, the expression shifted to one of concern rather quickly, and Gil glanced behind him. Toris followed his gaze, his eyes landing on Vash who stood as if he were frozen to the spot, eyes staring unblinking at the figure down the hallway. His face had become utterly pale, and he didn't even look like he was breathing. The blonde's mouth was halfway open, either as if he wanted to say something or was shocked at what was standing down the hall from them. And above all, an expression of hurt marked his face, one that shocked Toris - he had never seen such an anguished look on anyone before, and seeing it on Vash just seemed horribly wrong.

No one needed to say anything for the pieces to fall into place for Toris. As he turned back to look at the man down the hallway, he knew with certainty that this was the person who had betrayed Vash.


	16. Chapter 16

_Seriously_ , Gilbert thought to himself, turning his gaze back to the figure to glare at him. _The one time we decide to invade the castle, and this asshole is here when we do it?_

If he knew one thing for sure, it was that they couldn't keep standing there. He had already seen the look on Vash's face, and he was afraid if they continued to be within Roderich's presence, the blonde wouldn't be able to function. This was the first time he was seeing the stupid human in almost a year, and despite his cold exterior, Gil knew his grief was still extremely raw. And when Vash was upset, it either led to him shutting everyone out, or outleting his emotions as anger. With this situation, Gil couldn't let the latter happen, especially because it could easily blow their cover.

Gilbert tugged on Toris' wrist, beckoning him in the other direction. However, his progress was halted by resistance from behind him. Frowning, he turned around seeing everyone else looking at Vash. His eyes were still wide, seemingly struggling for control over his emotions.

Gilbert was about to question why Vash had stopped them, but before he could, the blonde opened his mouth.

"We need to ask him," he whispered, and Gil could tell he was trying his hardest to maintain a neutral tone.

Gil raised a brow, knowing exactly what Vash was talking about. However, he shook his head, immediately addressing it as a bad idea. They couldn't afford to be in this loser's presence any longer.

"Gil," Vash hissed, his tone both adamant and reluctant at the same time, "we can't keep wasting time. He's alone, and he's not a guard, so no one will notice him missing from anywhere. He might not know where Feliks is exactly, but we can at least use him for other information."

The red eyed faery stared at Vash, not speaking as he thought over his words. Of course, Vash was right - it _was_ their best option. However, it didn't mean he liked it. That would mean they would be using Roderich, dragging him around, forcing Vash to remain in his presence. He knew that wasn't what the blonde wanted - hell, even _he_ didn't want it. He knew Vash was only saying it because it was their best option, the easiest way to get to Feliks and get the hell out of there.

"He's right," Elizabeta spoke up, equally as quiet as the others who had spoken already. Gil turned to her, noticing that despite the steadiness of her voice, she looked almost guilty for having said it.

Gilbert turned his gaze back toward Roderich for a moment, seeing as he had begun to wander slowly toward them. He glanced quickly back at the others before letting out a soft sigh.

"I will go first," he said firmly, eyes trailing over everyone before landing and remaining on Vash. "The rest of you are to remain invisible and quiet until I tell you otherwise, got it?"

He received nods from the others,Vash's coming a second later. His gaze lingered on the blonde for a moment longer before he took another breath. Roderich had gotten a little closer, but he was still quite a ways from where they stood.

Well, he would just have to be quick about things then.

Gilbert placed his free hand on his dagger before letting go of Toris' wrist. The moment he did so, he ran with utmost grace toward the human, pressing him against the wall with his dagger to his throat before Roderich even knew what was coming. He glared at Roderich, pressing the dagger in as far as it would go without drawing blood. The human stared back, eyes wide at first from alarm and panic. Soon though, recognition filled his expression, quelling the alarm ever so slightly. Gilbert wanted to feel pleasure from scaring this human, but despite the power he held over him at the moment, he couldn't dredge up the feeling.

"If you try to shout or do anything funny, I will slit your throat in an instant," Gilbert hissed quietly, getting right to business. "Understand?"

Roderich stared at him in silence for a moment before answering. "It's nice to see you too, Gilbert," he muttered.

Gilbert grit his teeth, digging the knife in a little further until Roderich finally conceded. "Yes, I understand," the human got out, eyeing the dagger warily.

The faery released the pressure ever so slightly, just enough so Roderich could talk and breathe. "Where's the faery your king is keeping hostage?" he demanded, cutting right to the chase.

Roderich looked back at Gilbert, apparently unsurprised by the question. "I don't know exactly," he said with as much of a shrug as he could muster with the presence in front of him, "but I heard talk of him being held in the prison cells."

 _Just as Toris suspected,_ Gilbert thought to himself.

Without missing a beat, Gilbert continued. "If that's the case, then you're going to take us there," he commanded, his voice suggesting there was no room for argument. "And if you try to lead us astray, or try to alert someone of our presence, then I will kill you on the spot. Got it?"

Instead of a look of panic, or understanding, Roderich looked back at him in confusion.

"Who's us?"

Gilbert hesitated, realizing all too late that he had revealed that others were here before he had intended to do so. He cursed to himself, but he knew there was nothing he could do now - it was too late to take it back. And besides, Roderich was going to find out sooner or later. He was hoping it would be later, once he heard from Roderich's mouth that he would bring them to Feliks, but he supposed this would have to do.

Gilbert glanced over to where the group was standing, not saying a word. Within moments, the four were suddenly visible, although they had moved from their original position and were now standing much closer to where Gilbert and Roderich stood.

Gilbert watched as Roderich's gaze trailed over the group, eyes finally landing on Vash. They widened, shock portrayed on his face. However, Gil could also detect the guilt in his expression as well, and it made his blood boil. He sure as hell didn't believe for a second that this human felt guilty for what he did, and he didn't want to see him playing with Vash yet again.

Vash stared back at Roderich for several moments, keeping a blank expression, much to Gil's surprise. Roderich looked like he was about to open his mouth, but before he could get out any words, Gilbert pressed his dagger back into his neck, nearly drawing blood. At the same time, the group went invisible again.

"Try anything with Vash, and I _will_ end you," Gilbert hissed with all the menace in his body.

Roderich wasn't looking at him though, rather staring at the space where the group was most likely still standing. His expression no longer contained any fear, but was now filled with a multitude of emotion.

"I won't," he said quietly, lacking the superior tone he tended to use.

Gilbert stared at him suspiciously for another moment before releasing the pressure of the dagger and taking a step back. "Good," he stated, keeping the knife in hand. "I'm going to remain invisible with the rest, and you're going to lead us to the cells. And if you try anything…"

"I'm not going to do anything," Roderich snapped with a glare, although it was halfhearted.

Gilbert raised a brow in disbelief, not caring that he was showing his hatred so directly. Roderich deserved it, after all. Gil wasn't typically a violent person - sure, he trained for combat, but he didn't enjoy harming others. But after seeing what Roderich had turned Vash into, he had dreamed of the day when he could do something, _anything_ , to make the human feel any bit of the hurt his friend had felt continuously over the past year. But now that the time was here, with the human right in front of him, it seemed all he could do was taunt him with words. Unfortunately, they needed to use him, and hurting him wouldn't help any of them in this instant.

Gilbert felt someone gently grip his wrist, and just like that, he looked down to see his form fade away. He glanced back, now able to see the others. Everyone wore carefully guarded expressions, but despite the person they were using to find Feliks, they all still looked determined. Gil glanced over at Vash, but his expression had molded back into its typical one of indifference.

 _You good?_ Gilbert asked him, sending the thought to his head.

Vash turned his gaze away, staring ahead of him. _Fine._

Gilbert knew he wasn't, but he didn't press the issue. Moreso, he couldn't press the issue, because Roderich had began moving forward, leading them in what Gilbert hoped was the direction of the prison.

Without a second glance back, Gil began following Roderich, his body tense and ready to react at any given moment. He knew that unless Roderich wanted to die, he wouldn't ignore Gilbert's threats; however, he still didn't trust the human. He wouldn't let his guard down until everyone was back in the kingdom, Feliks included.

They reached the end of another hallway, and Roderich paused, looking both ways with a slightly confused look on his face. Gilbert glared at the back of his head, about to open his mouth to snap at the human, but before he got the chance, Roderich apparently made up his mind. He turned the corner, heading to the right. Gilbert hesitated, feeling as though the human was toying with them and leading them into a trap.

"He doesn't have the best sense of direction," Vash said quietly, his tone masked with indifference.

Surprised by the comment, Gil turned around, seeing everyone else glancing at the blonde. With all eyes on him, Vash shrugged, wearing a neutral expression. "If he seems suspicious, it's because he doesn't know where he's going," he continued. "If there's any chance of him betraying us, it won't be by leading us somewhere we don't want to be."

Gil stared at the blonde for a few moments more before nodding, beginning to walk off in the direction Roderich went. If Vash was willing to trust that Roderich was leading them in the right direction, that said something. It meant Gilbert really had no choice but to trust him as well.

They only encountered two other guards, but Roderich's excuse of losing his way back to his room from the music room was enough to ease suspicion. Apparently, it happened often enough for the guards to laugh it off. And, after around five minutes, Roderich finally stopped in front of a door, looking around him before twisting the knob, revealing a set of stairs leading downward.

"The prison cells should be down here," the human said, looking just off to the side of where the group stood as he was unable to see where they were actually positioned.

Gilbert raised a brow, although he knew Roderich couldn't see it. From the human's tone, it sounded as though he had finished his job. Gilbert, however, wasn't about ready to let this traitor go.

"You're not done yet," the faery stated, fighting the urge to cross his arms. "You're bringing us down there."

Roderich looked at him with a mixture of irritation and disbelief. "Do you know what will happen to me if I'm found down there?" he practically hissed, although Gil could see a hint of fear in his eyes.

However, he only shrugged, the movement once again missed by Roderich. "I don't care what happens to you," he replied nonchalantly, as if stating the obvious. "After everything you've done, this is the least you can do."

He watched with the slightest feeling of satisfaction as Roderich flinched. Good. He deserved it.

After a few more moments of silence, Roderich gave in and began walking down the stairs which were dimly lit by an overhead light. At the bottom, they reached another door, but when Roderich went to twist the knob, the door wouldn't budge. He frowned, trying to jiggle the knob harder, but it wouldn't move.

Roderich turned around, a frown evident on his face. "It's locked," he stated, placing a hand on his hip. "And don't ask me where the key is, because I have no idea."

Gilbert also frowned, but he wasn't deterred by a simple locked door. They had several options, of course. They could break open the door, although that probably wasn't the best option. For one, it would cause too much noise, and upon careful inspection, Gil got the feeling this door wouldn't go down so easily.

He turned behind him to look toward Elizabeta, and not to his surprise, she was already pulling a small tool from her pocket. Releasing herself from Matt and Vash, she made her way forward, practically shoving Roderich out of the way to position herself in front of the knob. The human looked at Elizabeta in disbelief, almost causing Gil to laugh out loud. Elizabeta was very straightforward with her feelings toward others, especially if she didn't like you. He was glad she was exhibiting that now.

She inserted the small tool into the keyhole, and Gil began watching her with interest as she moved it around in an attempt to unlock the door. However, his focus was interrupted as he saw Roderich shift his gaze to a particular blonde. Gil straightened, glancing back at Vash, ready to jump in at any moment. However, Vash seemed, at least on the outside, to be controlling whatever he was feeling rather well. He simply stared straight ahead at Elizabeta, completely ignoring Roderich as if he wasn't there.

There was a soft click, and Gil turned his attention back to the door to see it had been opened. Elizabeta stood, and the two made eye contact. She gave him a small smirk, clearly pleased with her work, and despite the seriousness of their mission, Gil still felt his heart temporarily stop from the expression.

 _Why does she have to be so perfect?_

Roderich hesitated momentarily, clearly surprised Elizabeta managed to pull that off. However, he soon recovered and walked past the door, the others following suit. They entered a short hallway, with several doors on each side. And, there just happened to be a knight stationed outside one of the doors.

His eyes widened upon seeing Roderich, and he was about to open his mouth to question him, or shout, or do something. Gilbert momentarily panicked, but before anything could happen, Vash was already behind the guard, moving so fast that Gilbert hadn't even seen it happen. He quickly delivered a punch to the man's jaw, causing him to collapse to the ground, unconscious. Vash bent down, checking to see if the man really was unconscious before he glanced back up, once again avoiding Roderich.

Without having to say anything, Elizabeta suddenly became visible, taking her tool once again to work at the door the knight had been standing in front of. While she did so, Matt released his invisible hold temporarily, causing the rest to become visible again. Gilbert took the chance to look at everyone else, and make sure everyone was on the same page.

"Matt, Vash, stay out here to keep out any intruders, okay?" he said, restating what they already discussed with their plan. "Liz, Toris, and I will grab Feliks as quickly as we can."

He received two nods from Matt and Vash, and he was about to turn back to see how Toris was faring when another voice interrupted.

"And what about the other human?" Elizabeta asked, not bothering to cover the venom in her tone as she continued working at the door.

Ah, right. Gil glanced at Roderich, who was standing rather awkwardly off to the side. The faery frowned. He knew letting him go wasn't a possibility yet, so that left them with two options. He didn't want to bring Roderich in with them, but at the same time, he wasn't sure if leaving him outside with Vash was the best option either. However, at least if he left him outside with Vash, Matt could keep him invisible. If any guards managed to make their way downstairs, it might be easier for everyone if it appeared no one was down in the prison, even Roderich.

He glanced at Matt, the two making eye contact. "Keep him invisible, and if anyone comes down here, have Vash deal with it. Make sure no one knows that human is here."

Matt nodded, and Gil turned to Elizabeta, avoiding looking toward Vash. He knew the blonde would see it as the most logical choice, but he still didn't want to see whatever expression he had on his face. Luckily, he didn't have to think about his decision much longer, because a click echoed in the hall. Elizabeta put a hand on the knob, and she glanced over at Gilbert and Toris as if making sure they were ready.

Gil glanced back at Toris, seeing a frightened look in his eye. He wanted to comfort the brunette, but honestly, he didn't think he could at that moment. Because despite how focused he had been, nerves suddenly pulsed in his body. He didn't know what state they would find Feliks in - he knew he wasn't dead, because the king wanted him too badly to kill him. But that didn't mean he wasn't hurt, and Gilbert was suddenly afraid to see how Feliks would be when they opened that door.

He did his best to snap himself out of his thoughts, turning his gaze back to Elizabeta to give her a nod of confirmation. Yes, he was nervous, but he had to get past that if they were going to get Feliks out of here.

Taking the indication, Elizabeta turned back to the door, carefully twisting the knob as she pushed it open. Without waiting another beat, Gilbert and Toris rushed into the room, Elizabeta trailing in their steps. Immediately, Gilbert's gaze fell to the figure lying on the ground several feet in front of him, back turned away from the door. He felt his breath catch in his throat, and he suddenly stopped, momentarily frozen to the spot.

Feliks' upper half was exposed, revealing a multitude of long, angry gashes trailing his back. Blood covered both his skin and his pants, and a particularly large stain on his left thigh gave Gilbert the impression he had an injury there. What appeared to be burn marks littered his body, with angry, deep bruises marking other areas of his skin. Gilbert didn't have to touch the cuffs around his ankles and wrists to know they were made of iron - he could sense it in the air, and considering how it affected him, he could only imagine how torturous it felt to Feliks. The only indication he was alive was the shallow rising of his chest, indicating that he was still breathing.

Toris rushed forward, shaking Gilbert out of his daze. The brunette went around to Feliks' front, immediately bending down as he looked at the faery in worry.

"Feliks," he said, and Gil could tell it was taking all of his effort to remain quiet. He placed his hands gently on the blonde's shoulder, softly shaking him. "Feliks, please wake up. It's me, Toris."

Gilbert and Elizabeta moved over to where Toris knelt, seeing many more gashes covering almost every inch of his body. He felt his heart stop for another moment, but he tried to suppress the feeling - he had to remain focused if he was going to be of any help. Feliks was clearly injured, but this was something they could fix, _if_ they could get him out of here.

Much to everyone's surprise, Feliks' eyes fluttered ever so slightly. Gilbert heard Toris take in a sharp breath, eyes widening as they began to glisten.

"It's okay," he persisted, a small smile forming on his face. "You can wake up, we're here to get you out of here."

It took several more moments, but after seemingly putting in much effort, Feliks managed to open his eyes, blinking several times to adjust his eyes to the scene in front of him. He looked at the three in front of him, eyes struggling to focus. However, once they did, his confused expression turned to one of anger.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he tried to snap, but his voice was too weak to sound menacing. He tried to get into a seated position, but the blonde had to pause on one elbow, squeezing his eyes shut momentarily as if trying to dispel either dizziness or pain.

As much as Gilbert wanted to give Feliks time to get to his senses, he knew they didn't have much time. He glanced at Elizabeta, and without a word, she moved over to Feliks' arm, carefully using her tool to try and unlock the iron cuffs. She kept her hand on Feliks' skin to steady herself, making sure not to touch the iron.

"What does it look like we're doing?" Gilbert replied while Elizabeta moved onto the second cuff. He glanced over at her, seeing the discomfort it was causing her. A pang of guilt surged through him, but he pushed it down. They had to do this it they were going to get Feliks out of here.

The click of another cuff sounded, and Elizabeta was quickly working on his ankles. Feliks, however, kept his eyes on Gilbert and Toris, although he was struggling to maintain their focus. "You shouldn't be here," he said, although it sounded like he was giving up on trying to sound forceful.

Last cuff. "Yeah, well too bad we're already here," Gil said, shrugging nonchalantly as though the situation wasn't dire at all.

Gilbert saw Feliks gaze turn toward Toris, and he watched as a silent exchange passed between the two. It seemed as though there was so much in that gaze, indicating how much the two wanted to say to each other. However, it was obvious it was going to have to wait.

In the next moment, Elizabeta released the last cuff, stepping back quickly as she placed her tool back in her pocket. She turned to Gilbert, slightly pale, but with a hard look in her eyes. She didn't have to say anything for Gilbert to know what she meant.

He turned back toward Feliks, kneeling down. "Feliks, this might hurt, but I'm going to have to pick you up, okay?"

Feliks eyed him, and from the fading look in his eyes, it looked as though he was beginning to lose consciousness again.

"It's fine," he mumbled, releasing his shoulder support to lower himself back to the ground.

Gilbert fought back the panic, telling himself Feliks was in no danger of dying. As gently as he could, he placed his hands underneath the blonde's back and legs, lifting him off the ground. Feliks sucked in a breath, and Gilbert could feel Feliks' body trembling from strain. He spared a glance at Elizabeta, seeing the concern in her eyes as well. However, her eyes also told him they needed to move, despite the pain it may be causing Feliks.

With a small breath, Gilbert was about to take a step forward when a shout from outside caught his attention. He immediately froze, noting that the shout didn't come from Matt or Vash. Before his mind could react, he heard the sound of swords unsheathing, and it was then that his suspicion was confirmed.

He cursed to himself. He had just been thinking they actually had a chance of getting out of the castle rather easily. But now, with what sounded like several guards blocking their way, things were about to get that much more difficult.


	17. Chapter 17

Vash kept his gaze pointedly at the door, trying to keep his utmost focus on remaining alert for any knights. Unfortunately, that meant he could see Roderich out of the corner of his eye and could see every single time the human glanced over at him. Which, much to Vash's annoyance, was at least once every ten seconds.

He almost felt as though all of this would have been easier if Roderich was acting like he hated them, like it disgusted him to be in the presence of the faery. However, from the expressions Vash had been seeing on his face, it seemed as though he felt the complete opposite. It was obvious he was nervous, but it almost seemed as though helping them was something he wanted to do.

Vash saw Roderich shoot him another glance, desperately looking like he wanted to say something. Vash, however, continued ignoring it. Despite Roderich's behavior, he knew he couldn't let himself be played again. If he was helping them, it was only because he was threatened by Gilbert's warning of ending his life. That was it.

But, if that was the case, why did Roderich keep shooting all these guilty and apologetic looks toward him? Vash was feeling incredibly conflicted, although he made sure not to show it externally. He wanted so desperately to have a moment with the human, and listen to him apologize and give a reason for what he did back then. He wanted to believe that he had good intentions, and that his feelings had never changed.

But the logical part of his mind told him that would never happen, that despite how badly he wanted to believe this sort of thing, it would never be right. It was the truth that Roderich betrayed him with the sole motive being his own gain. He didn't care about Vash when he informed the king of his presence - he didn't care then, and he certainly didn't care now.

Vash could feel Matt's eyes on him as well, and he could tell the faery was trying to get into his head. However, Vash kept his mind blocked, not wanting to listen at the moment. It was already taking all of his resolve to keep his emotions centered around his anger, and if Matt tried asking if he was okay or something like that, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to maintain his focus.

A small frown formed on Matt's face, but before he could try anything else, the door suddenly burst open, revealing a group of knights. The two in the front glanced around, their eyes quickly landing on the open cell door. It was then that they unsheathed their swords with lightning speed, beginning to move toward the door. The weapons didn't need to touch Vash for him to know they were made of iron - he could feel the prickling of his skin even from this distance, and it already made him uncomfortable.

Not having the time to question how a group of knights, six now that they all entered the room, discovered there were intruders, he released himself from Matt's grip, opening his mind just to tell Matt to remain invisible. He was flying toward the men before they even registered someone was attacking them, and as the first man noticed his presence, Vash lashed out at his ankles, sending him crashing to the ground with a surprised look. He didn't have time to feel satisfaction though, because his element of surprise was already gone.

The knights quickly moved in an attempt to surround him, but Vash wouldn't let that happen so soon. He unsheathed his own sword from behind his back and dodged an attack aimed for his shoulder, stabbing his sword into the side of the man's knee. He collapsed almost immediately with a shout, but the others moved in and took his place just as quickly. Without pausing, Vash spun around, now having to focus all his attention on the five others before him.

On one hand, fighting five on one was obviously a disadvantage, as Vash was left dealing with attacks from all sides of him. But, it also left him with plenty of opportunities to strike out at their opened defenses when someone wasn't paying enough attention. One of the men off to his right lowered his sword hand for just a moment as the man beside him went to strike Vash's leg, and it was just enough time for Vash to dance out of the way and send his leg crashing into the man's face. He crumpled to the ground unconscious, leaving four others.

By this point, Vash was surrounded by the knights, and he could feel the beginnings of nausea creep up inside him from their iron weapons. However, he kept it at bay, putting all his focus on fighting the enemy in front of him. It was almost relieving, because his mind had to remain at utmost attention to starve off all the attacks, leaving his mind no room to wander to other things, or people. This was why he loved combat training - the fact that, despite the violence involved, it did wonders of putting his mind at ease.

Vash barely had time to dodge two attacks, although one of their swords managed to graze his side. Vash could feel blood slowly trickling out of the wound, but he paid it no mind, knowing it wasn't anything serious. If anything, it only made him annoyed, giving him more resolve to finish this fight.

He noted briefly how the knights seemed to be attacking to injure, not to kill. It disgusted him, how desperately this human king seemed to want faeries, how he was willing to put the lives of his knights at risk to capture them. Although, these knights surely knew what they were in for if they were so willing to obey the king's orders. They were lucky Vash didn't fight to kill, although at this point, he was seriously considering abandoning that practice.

Vash heard a gasp from behind him, followed by the sound of someone dropping to the ground. Confusion hit him briefly, knowing that someone else delivered the blow. However, he suddenly felt a familiar presence at his back, and he relaxed ever so slightly.

"Why do you always get to have all the fun without me?" Gilbert complained as the remaining three knights paused momentarily at the new intruder.

Vash snorted as the men snarled angrily, once again jumping in to attack them. Vash deflected a blow before dodging another, dancing around with these knights.

"Sorry, next time I'll ask the enemy to wait for you before we start a fight," Vash responded sarcastically, raising his voice over the sound of clashing metal. He glanced at the man to his right, taking the chance to stab his sword into his thigh when he left an opening. He fell to the ground, gasping in agony. Vash almost felt bad - he preferred knocking other's unconscious so they didn't have to suffer, but he wasn't being left with many options. Plus, he told himself, these men had a hand in what happened to Feliks. He shouldn't have to feel bad for what they were getting back at them.

They took out the last two men rather quickly and stood for a moment after, stopping to catch their breaths. However, the moment didn't last long as he heard a voice from behind them.

"Guys," Elizabeta said, and both Vash and Gil spun around to meet her gaze while Matt released his invisibility on himself and Roderich. Toris then stepped out of the room beside her, supporting Feliks as the blonde leaned heavily on his side with an arm around the human's shoulder. Vash felt a pang go through his chest at the sight, seeing all of the gashes and bruises covering his body. It looked as though it was taking all his energy just to remain upright.

"Feliks says he can teleport us out of here," Elizabeta continued, glancing at the blonde as if she thought it was a bad idea. "He says as long as he can use some of our energy, he can do it. But we need to do it quick, because obviously someone knows there are intruders. When these knights don't report back, more will be sent."

Vash raised a brow, glancing from Elizabeta to Feliks. "Maybe we should just take our chances and get back out another way," he said, knowing he wasn't the only one who noted how the blonde was barely conscious.

"I can do it," he heard Feliks mumbled stubbornly, looking back at the others with what seemed to be an attempt at a defiant look. "I just need you all in contact with me, giving me some energy. But I can do it."

Vash glanced at the others, and Gilbert merely shrugged, giving a look that said, _why the hell not?_ Elizabeta had a small frown, but it was clear that despite her guilt, it seemed like the best option to her. And Matt wasn't arguing, so it seemed as though it didn't matter to him.

Vash was still hesitant, but before he could come to a conclusion in his head, he was cut off by the sound of footsteps above them. Everyone froze, not taking much time to determine the footsteps were most likely heading their way. The blonde inwardly cursed - these humans reacted rather quickly when it came to securing their king's needs. He expected to run into knights, but he didn't expect groups of them finding them at a moment like this. Something must have tipped them off, but what?

Not wasting any more time, Vash walked over to the others, determining this really was their only chance, unless they wanted to try fighting who knew how many knights. He met each of their resolute gazes before gently wrapping his hand around Feliks' wrist. He immediately began pooling all of his thoughts into giving Feliks whatever energy he needed to make this happen.

"Wait," a voice said, shaking Vash from his concentration. His blood ran cold again, realizing it was freaking Roderich talking. He saw Gilbert glance idly back at the human who was still standing by Matt's side, but Vash didn't follow his gaze.

"They're going to think I helped you," Roderich said, a hint of nerves in his tone.

Gil shrugged, clearly not caring. "That's your problem, not ours," he said nonchalantly, walking over to where Elizabeta stood.

Matt, who normally was sympathetic toward everyone, simply walked over to the others as well, not caring enough about Roderich's predicament to waste time with him.

And Vash, as hard as it was to just walk away, forced his feet to move toward the others until he was standing in front of Feliks. Feliks looked up at him, and despite the dazed look in his eyes, Vash could tell the faery was trying to read him. He forced his emotions down, once again trying to appear indifferent. This was just a short occurrence, and he couldn't dwell on it. He couldn't feel bad for leaving the human behind to his fate - it was what he deserved, after all.

"Vash, wait," Roderich said, his tone sounding desperate. Everyone by then had a hand gripping Feliks, but Vash froze at the insistence of his voice. He wanted to turn around and see the look on the human's face, to see if it matched his tone. But he forced himself to remain faced toward the others, not willing to give Roderich any satisfaction.

"Please, just stay and let me explain myself," the human continued, pleading now. "Just hear me out, and then I'll let you leave."

It was breaking his heart - no, it was shattering to pieces yet again, but Vash couldn't turn around. If he did, he might lose the will to leave, and he knew that would be a mistake. He felt everyone's eyes on him, but he ignored them as he pressed a shaking hand to Feliks' arm, gripping it loosely.

 _Just get us out of here_ , he thought to himself, trying but failing to suppress the shaking in his arm. He was barely hanging on to his cool exterior, and he knew if they didn't get out of here, he was going to lose it.

He heard Roderich's voice behind him, but Vash put all of his focus on pouring his energy into Feliks. He felt the others doing the same, and before he knew it, Vash could feel a sort of pressure building, accompanied by the steady increase of a soft light.

"Everyone ready?" Feliks managed to get out, definitely on the brink of consciousness.

Vash heard the others reply, but a sudden, sharp pain in the side of his thigh cut off his response. He tried to glance down to see what it was, but he didn't have time. Because before he knew it, he was being dragged along with the others into the portal that would bring them home.

He felt a slight sensation of nausea before he and the others were stumbling to catch their footing, landing in what looked like Feliks' home. However, Vash didn't have much time to ponder it, because Feliks was suddenly slumping toward the ground. Gilbert, Toris, and Matt quickly grabbed ahold of him, supporting him enough as they dragged him toward his bedroom.

Vash stared after them, feeling like he should do something to help. However, for some reason, his head felt sort of fuzzy, and he couldn't really think straight. With a frown, he glanced down, remembering the sharp pain in his leg he felt right before portaling. He noticed what looked like a very small dagger implanted in the side of his leg, and his frown only furrowed. How had that gotten in there?  
He tried to think about when it happened, or who could have thrown it, but his mind was running circles around itself. Giving up, he quickly pulled the dagger out, wincing only slightly. It was a very small knife, clearly not able to kill from just a leg wound. Blood began pooling out, but he ignored it, knowing it wasn't an issue right now. Whoever had thrown it had the worst aim Vash had ever seen.

Vash suddenly heard Elizabeta saying something, and he tuned in just in time to hear his name.

"Vash," she said, sounding very authoritative, "get some fresh water and bring it to the bedroom."

He felt himself nod, although the movement felt very sluggish to him. He began to walk toward what he thought was the kitchen; however, he felt like he was moving underwater, and the room was suddenly spinning all around him. Vash felt himself stop to try and settle the dizziness in his head, but for how much the room was spinning, he could have still been walking for all he knew. He vaguely saw something in his vision, and he tried placing his hand on it to support himself. However, either the object really wasn't there, or he wasn't strong enough to support his own body.

Because the room was spinning too much, and before he knew it, he felt himself falling. If he hit the ground, Vash wasn't sure, because he was unconscious before it even happened.


	18. Chapter 18

Elizabeta spun toward the sound of a body hitting the floor and the clanging of metal, only to see Vash face down on the ground. Her heart slid further down in her chest as she ran over, unsure of what the hell just happened. Before she turned him over though, she noticed a small pool of blood on the side of his leg. With a frown, she ripped at the fabric of his pants, revealing a small incision.

Gilbert suddenly appeared by her side, kneeling down to see what was going on. "He just collapsed," Elizabeta said, turning Vash over to see if there were any other injuries on his body. However, she found none. "He only has this small cut on his thigh, but it's clearly not enough to cause him to pass out from blood loss."

Gilbert frowned too, clearly just as mystified as she was. "I didn't notice it after we fought those guards," he said carefully, keeping his eyes down as he thought. However, moments later, his gaze hardened, as if coming upon a realization.

"It must have been that human," he snarled, turning to glare at Elizabeta. "He must have threw it right before we left."

She didn't respond, although a small pool of anger bubbled inside her as well. She didn't let it show though, because even if it was Roderich, it still didn't help them entirely. He may have threw the knife, but that piece of information didn't explain why Vash was currently unconscious on Feliks' floor.

Elizabeta glanced toward the bedroom guiltily, knowing Feliks had to be treated too. She was beginning to feel completely overwhelmed, because not only did they have a severely injured Feliks on their hands, but there was now this other mysterious occurrence to deal with. What was she supposed to prioritize? The one who wasn't in any danger of dying but had wounds that needed to be cared for, or the one whose life could potentially be in danger, only because they had no idea what they were dealing with.

However, before she was forced to make a choice, Matt strode by. "I'll handle Feliks for now," he said gently, pausing only to give Elizabeta a comforting smile. "Focus on Vash for now."

She nodded at him before Matt took off, bringing some medical supplies into the bedroom. Elizabeta then turned back to Vash, noting how pale he suddenly looked. His breathing was becoming shallow, something that, from a wound like the one he had, shouldn't have been happening. She turned toward the knife that had scattered several feet away from his body and used her sleeve to cover her hand before grasping the handle, frowning as she examined the weapon.

She brought the tip of the blade up just in front of her nose. The strong odor of blood quickly filled her senses, but there was another scent too, something that she couldn't quite detect. She wanted to believe it was something harmless from the human world that she simply had not encountered before, but a strong feeling in her gut was telling her that at least part of that statement couldn't be true. After all, unless whoever threw the dagger at or stabbed Vash had terrible aim, the attack wasn't made with the intent to kill.

Unless something had been placed on the dagger, something like poison.

"Gil," she commanded, keeping her eyes on the knife as her thoughts raced, "go ask Matt if we can borrow Kumajiro for a few minutes."

Gilbert looked to her with confusion, but luckily, he didn't question her. Instead, he got up quickly and moved into the other room. Elizabeta could hear the sound of voices, but she kept her gaze down at the unconscious faery, worry pooling in her body despite her attempts to thwart it. Because if what she suspected was right, then they were going to have another problem on their hand.

Moments later, Gilbert walked back into the room, followed by Matt's familiar. The bear was taking his time walking over to them, but Elizabeta couldn't even find it in her to yell at the animal. In fact, it was almost a relief that the bear was taking his time, because it meant it was only delaying what Elizabeta assumed the familiar would tell them.

Finally, Kumajiro paused next to Elizabeta, looking up at her. "You called?" he said, the slightest bit of concern sneaking into his voice despite the bored tone he was trying to use.

The faery nodded, placing the dagger down on the floor in front of the familiar. "You're able to tell whether a substance originates from the faery world or your world, right?"

Kumajiro scoffed, almost as if offended by the question. "Of course I can," the bear responded, stating it as if it should have been obvious.

Elizabeta nodded again. She knew the answer the familiar was going to give her, because Matt once mentioned how familiars had heightened senses and had more of an awareness of the worlds they resided in. But, she needed the confirmation, almost as if she needed reassurance.

She then looked down at the dagger, about to tell Kumajiro what she needed him to figure out. But, before she could, the bear already had his attention on the weapon placed in front of him. He hunched over, leaning his head toward the dagger.

The familiar gave a look of disgust, suddenly leaning back from the dagger. "Whatever coated that knife is definitely not from this realm," Kumajiro stated, glancing up from the weapon to look at Gilbert and Elizabeta. "I can sense that it's something harmful, probably some sort of poison, but I can't really tell you anything specific."

Elizabeta saw Gilbert frown, looking annoyed. "Okay," he said, almost sounding impatient, "so we'll just find an antidote and fix it."

Kumajiro snorted, although it lacked vigor. It didn't surprise Elizabeta - it seemed Gilbert clearly hadn't caught onto the seriousness of the situation yet.

"It's a human poison," the familiar enunciated, addressing Gilbert as if he were speaking with a toddler. "That means if there's an antidote for this, it'll only be found in the human world."

It was suddenly quiet as the words dawned on Gilbert. Elizabeta felt his gaze on hers, but she didn't meet his eyes. If this was any other time, it most likely wouldn't have been a big deal going into the human world to find this antidote. But with their mission they just came back from, the human king was surely on high alert now that his prize was taken away from him. They didn't even know what sort of antidote they would need either, meaning they would have to find Roderich to obtain it. Then, Elizabeta had no idea what was going to happen to the human after being down in the prison during Feliks' escape. If he was locked up, or executed, what would they do then?

She hadn't realized how rigid she had become until she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. Startled from her racing thoughts, Elizabeta turned to see Gilbert, giving her what seemed to be a reassuring look. He didn't have to say anything, but her mind was already calming down. She took several slow breaths, drawing air into her body that she hadn't realized she'd been lacking.

 _It's fine,_ she told herself, taking one last breath. _Everything will work out just fine._

"Oh, and there's one more thing," Kumajiro suddenly said, and despite the lightness in his tone, Elizabeta got the feeling that whatever was coming next wasn't good in the least.

"I would go and find this antidote as soon as you can, because from what I sense, this poison is pretty bad."

Elizabeta raised her head to look at the familiar, gazing at him with a wary expression. "What do you mean by 'pretty bad'"? She asked slowly.

Kumajiro hesitated only a fraction of a second before answering. "Pretty bad, as in Vash will probably be dead in three days if you don't get the antidote."

~~()~~

Lovino watched idly from around the corner as Antonio questioned that musician, Roderich or whatever. At first, the king had been furious, immediately believing that Roderich had assisted the faery's that had taken the king's prisoner away. However, after listening to the man insist he had only run into them on accident on his way back from the piano room, and how they had forced him into showing them where the prison cells were, Antonio at least didn't think he was involved. But, he was still livid, absolutely furious that his catch had gotten away so suddenly.

On one hand, it amused Lovino. The knights were all on edge, taking care to maintain poker faces, although it was obvious to Lovino how nervous they were. Even Roderich, who wasn't a trained knight and couldn't have stopped them from escaping, looked as though he was afraid Antonio would strike him down right then and there. He supposed he should have felt bad that Roderich was dragged into this, but he couldn't draw up any sympathy for the man. He vaguely recalled overhearing Antonio speaking to the stupid pianist one time, and from what he got out of the conversation, Roderich had tried turning in a faery too. Obviously he wasn't very high up on Lovino's list of virtuous people, so he supposed the man was getting what he deserved.

Antonio looked like he was about to dismiss Roderich, but much to the faery's surprise, Roderich cut him off.

"Sir," he started nervously, although he was doing his best to appear confident. "You should know that I managed to poison one of them before the group left. There should be no antidote in the faery kingdom, so this will force at least one of them to come back for it."

Lovino froze, the information taking him by surprise. Antonio, however, raised a brow, seemingly intrigued by this new information.

"Oh?" he questioned, "and how do you know they won't just let this faery die?"

A brief flash of surprise flashed across the man's face, but he recovered, leaving Lovino wondering if he had seen it at all. Roderich must have been surprised that Antonio was even speaking with him anymore, and even seemed interested in what he had to say.

"This group seemed rather close," Roderich responded, appearing much more confident now that Antonio was listening. "I have rather high suspicions that they wouldn't leave one of their own to die."

Antonio regarded Roderich silently for several moments, looking as though he was trying to assess the man. Lovino frowned, watching with interest as he waited for Antonio to respond.

"If this is what you believe, I shall have knights on guard awaiting their return," the king said simply, the tone indicating he was done with this topic. He almost seemed...bored.

Antonio began to turn around, and Lovino saw a brief flash of panic across Roderich's face, much to his surprise. However, the human quickly masked it and took a step forward.

"King Antonio, I have another idea that I believe might be more in your favor," Roderich said, his voice slightly tentative.

Antonio raised a brow but didn't respond as he waited for Roderich to continue.

"Let me go to my home, without knights, and let the faeries go there. It might be difficult, but maybe I can try to convince them I am an ally. That way, I can provide you with information so that you can get the faery you want back, and get whatever else you want from their kingdom."

The king once again regarded Roderich, and Lovino could tell that despite his interested look, he was also suspicious. And apparently, the human caught on too because he began speaking just as quickly.

"I know you want to conquer much more than just the human kingdoms," he said, speaking with deep regard that made Lovino want to throw up, "and this may be your best option. If you let me try to get on their side, maybe I can eventually find the entrance to their kingdom."

"You seem very eager to do this," Antonio commented, folding his arms over his chest.

Roderich nodded, no hesitation in his movements. "Sir, I let you down when I promised a faery escaped. And now, I watched as the one faery you needed slipped away. Nothing can make up for disappointing you, but this may be a way to at least partially make up for it."

It was silent once again as the king watched Roderich. Lovino couldn't tell if Roderich was making all of this up or simply sucking up to the king, but either way, he figured it would work - Antonio was weak when it came to people trying to please him. Despite Roderich's intentions, it still made the faery want to throw up, or punch him. Or both. He was so willing to go try and befriend Lovino's own people, just to betray them for Antonio's gain. It disgusted him, especially because it didn't seem to concern the human in the slightest. Not that it should have surprised him, considering this wouldn't be his first time doing so, but still. He just hoped that whoever this group of faeries was, they were smart enough not to trust Roderich.

"Fine," Antonio finally said, shaking Lovino from his thoughts. "I will allow you to try. But you must report every single thing to me, and if I find you are not working for me, I will execute you immediately, is that understood?"

Roderich nodded quickly, and Antonio smiled. "Good. Then you should probably get some rest - I'm not sure when these faeries will come, but you have a recital tomorrow, in case you forgot. And as my official pianist, I can't have you giving anything less than a flawless performance."

The human nodded again. "I will retire to my room here and head home after my performance tomorrow," he responded.

With that, Roderich turned around and exited the room, leaving Antonio alone with the few knights that remained at bay. Lovino watched as the men exchanged tentative glances at each other, and Lovino knew it was because one of them wanted to speak up but was afraid to do so.

However, he finally got the courage to do so. "King Antonio," one of the men said, speaking with caution, "with all due respect, should we trust sir Roderich? He isn't a knight and has not had proper training, nor has he had to swear his allegiance to you as us knights have."

Antonio was staring off at a space in front of him, clearly deep in thought. "I trust him," he answered slowly, not looking at the knight. "He is too afraid of me to try and deceive me."

He then finally met the knight's gaze. "But it doesn't mean his plan will work, or that it won't take time. So starting tomorrow, you will begin the patrol sequence we developed the other day. Understood?"

The man nodded, appearing somewhat relieved. Lovino, however, was the opposite, because he knew what patrols Antonio was talking about. They weren't just normal patrols, looking out for any faeries venturing from the boundaries of their kingdom. He had been content with that before, but now, it seemed he was ready to take another step forward.

Now, he was sending out his men specifically to find the entrance to the faery kingdom. Because he didn't want just stray faeries anymore - now, he wanted their whole damn empire.

 **Note: hey everyone, if you've made it this far, thank you for reading! This is the conclusion to part one of this fic (sorry for leaving it on a cliffhanger). I'll try to start working on part two soon, so be on the lookout for that :)**


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